Spying at Alice Academy
by Serenity Ngo
Summary: U.S Alice Academy sends their three brightest students to Japan's Alice Academy to investigate the chaos between the Anti-Alice Association and the Academy. One sentence summary, go figure. Tune in to find out more. I do not own Gakuen Alice.
1. Receiving the Mission

**Chapter One: Receiving the Mission**

"Agent 001, Agent 002, Agent 003, please go to Room 8B to be briefed on your new assignment."

I grimace in distaste, glancing over at the faces of my two best friends, Agent 001 and Agent 002. I'm quite sure they were thinking the same thing I was. _We have names!_

This is me, Agent 003. Of course I have a name, but obviously, that's classified. As for my Alice, that's also classified. Same goes for my two best friends, so don't waste time asking them. Only we three seem to remember the truth of it all. Too bad we're not allowed to tell anybody.

According to the government, none of us exist anymore. According to them; and now, our family members; we all died in the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001 when in fact, all three of us had been whisked away before the airplane crash even happened. We were at least allowed news of our family. For five years, we have been students of Alice Academy, USA, part of the Dangerous Ability group.

I open the door, allowing Agents 001 and 002 to enter before me. Looking around and scanning the room for any possible bugs, I close the door tight and click three locks on the door. Agents 001 and 002 are already seated, and Joel and Kay, our "bosses," look at me expectantly. "Agent 003?"

"Sorry." I mumble, slipping into the seat next to Agent 001. Her wide clear light brown eyes stare at me worriedly. I stare back expressionlessly, black eyes staring at brown.

"Eh-hem?" Joel coughs, his cough clearly fake, while Kay smiles and waits patiently. I look away and focus my attention on Joel and Kay. Joel smiles, and snaps his fingers briskly. A big screen slides down from the ceiling. Agent 002 scowls, brushing away a stray lock of black hair.

I say brightly, "Nice…you have any cable in here?" Joel glares at me, before turning to Kay and nodding his head. Kay clicks a button on her remote control and a slideshow appears on the screen.

I lie back in my chair and put my feet on the table. Normally I wouldn't do this in front of people, but Joel and Kay are pretty cool about it; cooler than some other "bosses" I've heard of. Agent 001 takes a notepad out of her bag and scribbles furiously into it when Joel begins his lecture. "Agents, your services are needed."

"Duh?" Agent 002 says angrily. I feel sorry for Joel, who hasn't been hanging around her all day. He doesn't realize how important it is to humor her today. Let me tell you, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Agent 002 continues with her tirade. "Let's get on with it, Joel. I got an anime to watch in thirty minutes."

I giggle at Joel's expression to try to lighten the mood and say, "Come on, let's let him talk. We torture him enough."

Joel transfers his glare to me before continuing, gesturing to the screen where a highly detailed map showed up. "This is Alice Academy in Tokyo, Japan."

"Oh my gosh!" Agent 002 and I squeal like overly obsessed fan girls. "It's Japan! It's really Japan! I've always wanted to go there!"

"Awesome." Agent 001 echoes tiredly.

"Don't kill yourself from excitement." Kay hides a smile.

Joel sighs in exasperation. "What we need you to do is to infiltrate Japan's Alice Academy, you know, make sure things are okay over there. As always, we expect you to report back to us on the laptop every day before bedtime."

Kay hands each of us a packet of clothes along with one laptop specially developed for us from someone's technology Alice. Kay gives the laptop to Agent 001, her being the most responsible out of all three of us.

"We have to wear…" I gasp in mock horror. "UNIFORMS?!"

Agent 002 giggles with pleasure, bad mood lifted. "Yay! I've always wanted to wear uniforms!"

"The skirt better have built-in shorts." Agent 001 grumbles.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Kay squeals with us.

"Are you girls done?" Joel asks tiredly. "I can't believe you guys are geniuses. You must have cheated on your IQ test or something."

I stop in mid-squeal and try to recover professional-like. "How can you possibly cheat on an IQ test, Joel?" I ask stiffly, fighting back my excitement. "And we're still thirteen year old girls, no matter how smart we are."

"Please continue Joel." Agent 002 says demurely. Joel rubs his head like he has a headache. I snicker with Agent 001 and Agent 002. We all know he's faking.

"Chillax, Joel." Agent 001 says soothingly. "Seriously, please continue." Joel straightens up and begins listing requirements for our mission.

"What?" Agent 002 screeches. "We have to learn Japanese?"

"Well, how else are you going to talk to the locals?" Joel asks sarcastically. "Speak in meaningless gibberish to them until they sic the police on you?"

"How long do we have?" Agent 001, always the practical one, asks.

Kay shrugs. "About a week." Okay, now I'm getting angry.

"Why such short notice?" I ask warily. Joel and Kay look at each other uncomfortably, a silent conversation passing between them that only they can understand.

Kay laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. "We don't know. But trust us, we tried to inform you as soon as we could." She says to my face seriously. Looking into her hazel eyes, I know she's telling the truth. But my temper has never been that good. I tried, honestly tried, to contain myself, but the hateful words still came pouring out. At least I developed enough self-control to limit my voice, even though my brain was screaming at me to yell the words, to fill the whole room with my torturous feelings.

I say quietly, "What gives you the right to use us like this?" Kay's hand slips off my shoulder.

Joel and Kay have sorrowful expressions on their exterior. Agent 002 stands at my side, fuming with anger, while Agent 001 remains seated, fidgeting nervously with her Alice limiter on her ear. I immediately bit back what words I was going to say, and felt remorse. Agent 001 shouldn't get nervous because of me. She always appeared a sickly child, frail and thin. But behind that delicate outside hid gentleness, a quick wit, and firm muscles. I didn't like upsetting her in any way, so I took out my anger by kicking an empty chair to the floor.

"Continue." I ordered, plunking myself back into my seat. Agent 002 followed suit.

Joel gladly continued. "There's one last order of business. You need an alias while in Japan."

"Can we choose Japanese names?" I ask bluntly. "No offense to any Japanese people, but I don't like the way they say English names, let alone talking in English."

"Yeah…" Agent 002 appeared to be pondering the thought.

"To save your brain power," Kay says slyly. "we have assigned you code names already. Please practice addressing each other using these names, so you can get used to it." She begins handing out weird mini-booklets. "Here are your Japanese passports. You will be posing as Japanese natives, so better be careful."

I looked at mine and read out loud incredulously, "My name's Sakurai Karin? What?"

"Yours is easier to pronounce than mine!" Agent 002 shot back. "I'm Sakurai Mit…su…ki? Sakurai Mitsuki?"

"Actually," Agent 001 states matter-of-factly, "I think mine is the easiest." She holds up her passport so I and "Mitsuki" can see. We both stagger and suppress giggles. "I'm Narita Hana." Agent 001 says, smiling slightly.

Joel stands up from the chair he had been occupying. "Glad to see you like your names. This meeting is over. You are dismissed!"

Checking her pink wristwatch, Mitsuki says reprovingly to Joel, ice in her voice, "You owe me big time. My anime episode just ended."


	2. Journey to Japan

**Chapter Two: Alice Academy, Japan**

Outside in the corridor of the U.S Alice Academy, my two friends, now dubbed Sakurai Mitsuki and Narita Hana, and me, Sakurai Karin, talk about our current situation, trying to come up with a good cover story.

"Okay," I say, trying to clarify things. "Mitsuki and I are fraternal twins, and Hana is our distant cousin." Mitsuki nods and Hana motions for me to continue. "We've been living abroad since we were born?" I suggest.

Mitsuki, the master story-weaver, nods, her finger tapping her chin. "Yes, that would work. That would explain how we've never been seen in Japan."

"What about our parents?" Hana asks, causing Mitsuki to freeze. She had never completely recovered from the loss of her parents.

I quickly answer the question by saying, "Let's just say that they're dead. No one will ask about them then. They'll probably be afraid that they'll offend us."

Mitsuki had recovered. "Good job, Karin."

A week later, we board a private jet at nine o'clock late at night. We would arrive at Tokyo in ten hours, then another hour to arrive at Alice Academy. Afterwards, school would begin.

Our Japanese isn't perfect yet, but we have learned enough in order to have a decent conversation with someone. At least our accent is flawless; so flawless that in fact, no one would ever suspect that we aren't Japanese natives. In writing, Hana and I are completely hopeless, while Mitsuki got the knack of it pretty quick, although she keeps on mixing the characters up with Chinese characters.

On the plane, Hana and I are feverishly practicing our hiragana, while Mitsuki is watching an anime episode and reading manga on the laptop, claiming she is "practicing" her conversation skills.

I start chanting, "We can do this!"

Mitsuki interrupts my train of chanting by saying in Japanese, "I wonder if we'll see some cherry blossoms? Its spring now, so maybe we can go see them?"

I quickly reply back in Japanese, "Maybe we shouldn't. I hear they're a major tourist trap."

"I see." Mitsuki pauses, then her lips curl into a pout. "Aww…" Then her face assumes a thoughtful expression. "I've always wondered this one thing. Why are 'cherry blossoms' called 'cherry blossoms'? Do they produce cherries?"

Hana shrugs and says, "I don't even know, okay Mitsuki?"

I yawn. Hana leans her head against my shoulder. "Mitsuki, get some sleep soon." I yawn again. Then, I fall asleep gradually to the sound of Mitsuki's anime.

"Karin. Karin!" I wake to see Mitsuki shaking my arm. Hana is packing up our stuff.

Grumpily, I mumble through half-closed eyes, "Wha? What's wrong?"

Mitsuki smiles at my dazed voice. "We're going to land in half an hour!"

My eyes fly open. I hold up my hands. "Help me up." Mitsuki pulls me up. I yawn and rub my eyes.

I groan, "Darn it" while grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Don't forget to change!" Hana calls.

"Wha?" I mumble again, groggily. Mitsuki pushes a packet into my arms, grinning widely at my half-awake form. Rubbing my eyes, I notice that Mitsuki and Hana are already decked out in their brand new uniforms, a blue plaid skirt with a white shirt, black ribbon, and black overcoat. I sigh, resolving to add my own personal touch to the stiff look and hurry to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, I come out of the bathroom to meet the scrutinizing looks of Mitsuki and Hana. I leave my shirt untucked, and the last button meant to reunite both sides of the collar together is not buttoned. My ribbon is not tied at the top near my collar in the traditional bow; instead it is tied loosely and simply, allowing the edges of my collar to flap freely. In the chart enclosed in the clothes packet, I see that I'm supposed to tuck my shirt into my skirt. Throwing away the chart, I leave my shirt out, _where it is supposed to be!_ My outer coat is not buttoned either, for who would like to be all stuffed up in this warm weather? My knee-length socks are neatly folded down to halfway up my calf, and my brown school shoes are shiny new. My long layered black hair hangs straight down my back and my bangs lie flat on my forehead. Looking into the mirror, I know I look foreboding. No one would ever believe that I am the youngest of the trio.

I return my friends' stare. Mitsuki is wearing her uniform similar to mine, except she abandons the ribbon altogether. Her silky long, straight cut black hair is gathered into a tight ponytail at the base of her neck with a couple chopped strands held behind her ears with clips on either side of her head. She looks kind of like me, a fact that causes many people to mistake us as sisters, but when you dig closer, you'll see a big difference. Being the shortest, and most possibly the silliest of the trio, no one would ever believe she is the oldest.

Hana meanwhile, wears her uniform the correct way; buttons all buttoned, tie in the correct location, socks pulled up all the way. With brown hair that seems to float and deep light brown eyes, she looks the gentlest of us three, the most approachable. I feel sorry for the many people who have underestimated her and gotten flipped by what I like to call: "her awesome kung-fu skills!"

A man's voice calls out in English over the speaker, "Misses, we shall be landing in Tokyo in five minutes. Please be seated and fasten your seatbelts."

After we land, we begin the exhaustive process of lugging our baggage out to the limo with tinted windows that was to take us to Alice Academy.

"Aieee!" Mitsuki, Hana, and I squeal. "We're actually going to ride in a limo!"

Our joy was short-lived though, and it ended right when we opened the limo door. My expression is definitely _Wha?_ right now, and Mitsuki and Hana have to be thinking the same thing I am. Who is this guy with the weird cuckoo mask? A man was sitting in the limo, with dark hair, pale skin, and dark lips. Weird…He wears a mask that covers his eyes and part of his cheeks, being one the only things he's wearing that's white. Dressed in dark clothing and dark high heels, he seems to be having his own little dark party in that corner of the limo.

Being polite people, we say nothing and step calmly into the limo. Of course, I get stuck sitting next to the cuckoo, but what else is new? I cough, and the weirdo startles slightly, dark girly lips curling into a half-smile.

"Welcome to Japan, girls." He says in a dark voice. "I hope you like it here."

"Thank you very much." I say primly. "I hope you like it here too."

Extremely dark eyes flicker to my face, and I stare stubbornly back. "Thank you, Sakurai-san."

"I presume you already know my first name, so you may call me that." I retort. "No use wasting time."

"You girls may call me," the man pauses, most probably for dramatic effect. "Persona."

"Phmf!" Mitsuki stuffs her knuckles inside her mouth while Hana and I shoot glares at her, trying to contain our own giggles. I mean seriously. Persona? Is this dude a dude or a dudette?

"May I ask what is so funny, Sakurai-san?" Persona asks icily. "Let us all in on the joke. I'm in a good mood today." _Probably because he just added three more powerful Alices to his posse._ I find myself angrily thinking.

"I apologize, Persona-san. There was a man doing…um…outside. Please excuse me." Mitsuki says respectfully, managing to bow sitting down. "And please, call me Mitsuki."

Persona turns to Hana next and takes her hand. "Narita-san? May I have the pleasure of addressing you as Hana?"

"Yes, you may." She breathes softly, clutching onto my arm for comfort. Persona reaches into a bag and extracts a few things. I warily stare at his movements, assessing them carefully. He hands each of us a sticker-like star inside a circle.

"Stick this on your collar." He instructs us. "You are special stars, the highest of the high. You will be informed of your special privileges later." He also hands us each a key. "Here are your room keys. Have a nursery robot show you to your rooms."

Mitsuki and I glance at each other. A robot? Persona continues, "As for classes, your first teacher will escort you to your first class. The kids in your beginning class stay with you the whole day, so you can just follow them to find your other classes. After classes are over, there's a special period of time where you'll train your Alice with other members of the same group. You will report to the Dangerous Ability room."

Of course we'd get put into the Dangerous Ability group. And training? Joy.

"I'm assuming you already know what our Alices are?" I ask without looking at Persona.

"Naturally." Persona shrugs, leaning towards me. "I know everything about you. Everything."

I keep my face straight, although I'm frantically thinking; _Does he know we're spies?_

"Good. Then you know about my anime and manga tastes." Mitsuki extracts a list from her backpack. I stare at her in astonishment, and Hana shakes her head. Mitsuki is smiling a bit, as if she's had a great idea. Mitsuki stands up in the moving car- don't ask me how, she stumbled a little- and squishes in between Persona and me. She hands Persona her list and begins explaining to his stony expression, "Well, I like this one, and this one, but I absolutely love this one the best." Persona snatches away her list and crumples it up. A long silence fills the room.

Hana finally breaks it. "Say, Mitsuki." She says calmly. "Did you fix your watch yet?"

Mitsuki brightens, then inches her watch closer to Persona's face. "Excuse me, Persona-san, but could you please tell me what time it is? As you can see, my watch is completely off." As Persona looks at her watch, I see her press the button used to reset the watch.

I understand now! Hana has just reminded us about the report we must make at the end of the day. Mitsuki is using the camera mode on her watch!

_Say cheese._ I think devilishly.

"It is 7:03 AM right now." Persona says. Obviously, he didn't suspect anything. I give a silent sigh. It's such a sad life, being underestimated. But, that's why we're such valuable tools to the U.S. "School begins at eight, as I believe you know."

I yawn a bit and say, "Yeah."

The rest of the ride there, we completely ignored Persona, who was leafing through some files on his lap, and fiddled around with the TV, the stereo, the refrigerator, and the windows. I think I heard Persona mutter "… (This part was inaudible) Americans…" when Mitsuki opens the window, causing all his papers to fly around the limo.

"I. Am. So. Sorry." Mitsuki whispers. Persona glares at Mitsuki, making her turn into a frozen fish stick. Hana and I do our best to keep upright in the moving limo as we stoop to pick up the scattered papers.

I know that not looking at the papers would be the polite thing to do. But; and I smile sheepishly as I think this; I am a spy. Pretending to stoop in order to pick up an imaginary paper in a dark corner, I quickly leaf through the papers I have already recovered.

Each of these papers is like one of those lame profiles you see on those bogus dating websites. With bated breath, I extract my glasses from where they hang precariously on the neckline of my shirt, and put them on. Sliding my finger along the metal framing of my glasses, I find the switch no one but me can touch. Pulling the switch, I activate my own camera, hidden in my glasses. I pull the switch several times, photographing every page in my hands.

"Karin-san!" I stop myself from jumping violently with surprise, and quickly replace my glasses to their previous location. When I turn around, Persona is looking at me with a suspicious expression.

"Thank you." He says as he snatches the papers from my hand. His eyes take a swift look at my glasses. "You wear glasses, Karin-san?"

"Yep." I mumble. "Ever since I was nine years old. Read too much."

"Why aren't you wearing them?" Persona's eyes narrow behind his stupid cuckoo mask. Obviously, _he's_ not as stupid as the mask.

"I hate wearing them." I say stubbornly, knowing in my mind how much more suspicious I sound. But the irony is I really did just state the truth. Persona's still staring at me.

"I see." He finally says, breaking eye contact and going back to his paperwork with a red pen.

We take our seats beside him again, and this time, sit patiently and demurely. My excitement increases as large, impressive looking gates with the words "Alice Academy" engraved on a grey plaque. There were other words too, but they were too small to see clearly.

The limo stops at the gate, much taller than I thought, then enters the campus when the gatekeeper hurriedly opens the gates. We cruise down a long driveway, me growing more and more excited with every crunch of gravel. Even though I'm telling myself I should calm down, because I'm not here for fun, I'm still bouncing on the seat, earning me two sighs each from Mitsuki and Hana, and a look from Persona that clearly said, "Are you crazy?"

All of a sudden, while I was in mid-bounce, the car stopped with a loud _SCREECH_, sending me to the floor of the limo. The limo hurtled forward relentlessly. All of a sudden, it miraculously stopped. Sitting up, I hear a _BUMP_ from outside.

"Eh?" I exclaim.


	3. First Day at Alice Academy

**Chapter Three: First Day at Alice Academy**

"Welcome to Alice Academy." Persona says, but we're already out the limo, school backpacks over our shoulders. We run to the front, me looking around for the person I thought we had hit.

"TSUBASA!" A furious voice comes from the other side of the car. I quickly run to the other side of the car, flanked by Mitsuki and Hana.

I see a girl about my own age, with pinkish shoulder length hair, wearing the junior-high uniform. She is sprawled on the ground, with a boy lying on top of her, messy blue hair covered by a worn looking orange cap, and a peculiar star-like shape on his cheek.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she was saying, pushing the boy off her so that he plopped onto the ground beside her.

"I thought I was saving your life!" the boy retorted.

"That stinking car stopped ages before it even reached us, idiot! Seems like you're trying to get me killed more than saving my life!" the girl yells back.

Standing up, and brushing her skirt off, she notices us standing there, most probably with bemused expressions on our faces. "Hello." She says. She jerks her head toward the limo. "Is that yours?"

"Nah." I reply with a careless nod of my head. "It's a rental." She grins at me. I furrow my brow worriedly. "I apologize if we hit you. I promise we will personally compensate."

"No blood, no foul." The pink-haired girl shrugs again.

Remembering the book I had read on Japanese culture and etiquette, I say, "My name is Sakurai Karin. Pleased to meet you." Not knowing what else to do, I stick out my hand for a handshake. I see Mitsuki's hand move inconspicuously toward her watch out of the corner of my eye.

The girl stares at my hand for a moment, then puts her hand in mine. "My name is Harada Misaki. Pleased to meet you, Sakurai-san." She points down at the boy, who is now reclining on the grass with his hands behind his head with an aura of defeat about him. "This idiot is Andou Tsubasa."

While Mitsuki and Hana introduce themselves to Misaki, I stoop down next to Tsubasa. "Hello." I say hesitantly. His eyes flicker to me.

"Hi." He says dully.

Leaning closer so he can hear me, I whisper, "Don't worry. It's always the thought that truly counts. Keep trying." Standing back up, I smile slightly and stretch out a hand of friendship. "Need help?" Tsubasa grins up at me and takes my hand. I easily pull him up, and I can tell he's astonished by my strength.

"You must have quite an arm." He says, laughter in his eyes. I look up at him to my surprise, give him a playful glare, then walk back to Mitsuki and Hana. Misaki and Mitsuki are having a conversation about various manga they've both read, and Hana is looking nervously at the limo.

When I touch her arm, she looks up at me and says, "I think Persona is waiting for us."

Tsubasa, who had followed me, blurts out, "Persona?"

I turn around to see him looking at us suspiciously. I ask him, "You know Persona?"

However, Tsubasa is all coolness again. Mitsuki snatches a picture of him at the worst time, exactly when he has a cool, aloof expression on. "Nope. I just thought that was a funny name." he says. Then, he turns to Misaki and says, "Let's go. We're going to be late for class."

"I'm not done talking. And since when do you care if we're late for class or not?" She says irritably, but when she turns around to see his serious face, she complies with his request. "Maybe we'll catch you guys later." Misaki says, waving at us as they leave. "Well, see you then!"

We pop our heads back inside the limo, where Persona is gathering his papers, looking slightly put-out. "Well, welcome to Alice Academy." He grumbles as he steps out of the limo.

"Whoa, look over there!" Mitsuki grabs my arm, and points into the distance.

"Wowzas!" I exclaim. A gigantic, pale orange vehicle is zooming towards us. As it comes closer, I see that the vehicle is actually a large bus, manufactured to look like a cat. Mitsuki touches her watch and surreptitiously snaps a picture of it.

The bus doors open with a whooshing sound that alarms me, though I take care not to show that it did; and out walks a woman.

This woman has blonde hair grazing her shoulders, and a beauty mark near one of her long-lashed purple eyes. She is wearing a loose-fitting white blouse with tan colored pants. She also has a rather flat chest, but I won't hold that against her. She wears earrings on her ears and rings on her fingers.

"Hi everyone!" A masculine voice sounds out of the supposed female person's mouth.

I really should be used to this and not jump to conclusions so quickly, since tons of men have long hair and have pierced ears (and piercing in other areas too). But my hidden astonishment was great when a male voice came out of his mouth.

"Oh my goodness, are these the new students? They're so cute and adorable! So cute!" he gushes.

I confess; I gawked at him, but who wouldn't? I'm tempted to ask him his gender, just to be sure, but that would be rude, so I don't ask. Mitsuki and Hana are looking at him suspiciously, and Mitsuki takes a picture of him.

"Is there something wrong with your watch, Mitsuki-san?" Oh crud. Persona has noticed.

"Just checking to see what time it is." Mitsuki says innocently.

Persona seems to accept this explanation, and speaks to the blonde man. "Narumi, take them up to the school. You know what class they're in. I must leave on certain business now, but I'll return at the end of the day."

The man named Narumi nods. "Come, children!" he says jovially, leading the way into the kitty bus. "School is waiting!"

"It was nice meeting you, Persona-san." I say politely, though I'm thinking the exact opposite. He acknowledges me with a nod, but completely ignores Mitsuki. Mitsuki immediately huffs an almost inaudible sigh of relief.

However, to Hana's obvious discomfort, Persona takes her hand and says, "I'll be back later to see how you do. Good-bye, Hana-san." Then, in the blink of an eye, Persona is back inside the limo and driving away at an astonishing speed.

"Someone fancies you, Hana." I mutter in her ear as we board the bus.

"Shut up!" she hisses back at me.

In the bus, Narumi talks to us, asking about our names, ages, and other general information. "You'll need to pick up your textbooks after school." Narumi instructs with delight.

"Alas," he says, crushed. "I will not be able to have the pleasure to teach you. I work in the Elementary Branch, teacher to some of the cutest students here." At these words, he adopts a dreamy expression, while my face is surely skeptical.

Looking out the window, he exclaims, "We're here! I present to you…" here, he pauses for dramatic effect, "the Junior High Branch!"

The bus comes to a stop in front of a huge building. Before I have time to gawk at it some more, Narumi-sensei was already herding us off the bus and inside the building. Everything flashes before my eyes. I think we may have walked up a flight of stairs; or perhaps we didn't. All in all, Narumi-sensei leaves us at the door to our classroom, waving good-bye to us then walking away jauntily.

I knock on the door in a sing-song rhythm before opening it. All the students in the classroom plus the teacher turn their heads to look at us. I suddenly feel very foolish.

"Come in." the teacher says to us. "You must be the new students?"

I breathe an inward sigh of relief. This teacher looks normal, with common black hair and dark eyes. We step inside the classroom. The students are still glaring at us, and now is the moment I wish I have the mind-reading Alice. Looking around, I see Misaki is in this class, sitting in the front row next to two empty seats.

The teacher begins to introduce himself. "You may call me Misaki-sensei. I teach biology." He fidgets uncomfortably for a moment. "Would you like to introduce yourselves to the class?"

"Sure?" I say after a long silence. Looking over at Mitsuki and Hana, I silently ask them with my eyes if they want to go first.

Hana rolls her eyes and starts. "My name is Narita Hana." Another silence ensues. She looks pointedly at Mitsuki.

Mitsuki sighs, then says, "My name is Sakurai Mitsuki."

It's my turn now. Taking a deep breath, I say, "My name is Sakurai Karin. Pleased to meet you."

An observant kid in the front row asks, "Are you and that girl" he points to Mitsuki, "sisters?"

Rather than answering "no" like I usually do when we are asked that question, I actually say, "Yes, we're fraternal twins." This statement triggers more questions.

"Who's older?" A girl asks Mitsuki.

"I am." She says, and this creates mass hysteria. A couple of students are gaping at me, and I don't have to be a mind reader to know what they're thinking now. I tower a good three inches over Mitsuki's head, and I'm bigger than her in every aspect.

To dispel the murmurings, I say loudly, "I'm just the twin who got the tall gene." Pausing for a short moment, I poke fun at myself by saying, "And most of the nutrition." This statement earns me a laugh from the class.

"All right, settle down." Misaki-sensei says, smiling slightly. "Sakurai Mitsuki-san and Narita-san, please be seated in those empty seats in the front. Sakurai Karin-san, please be seated in the empty seat in the second row."

Uneasily, I walk to the only empty seat available in the second row; an aisle seat beside a boy with blue hair. He looks up at me.

"Hi." He says shortly.

"Hi?" To my ears, my reply sounds like a question.

"I'm Matsudaichi Hayate, fifteen." The blue-haired boy says intensely. "How old are you?" He scoots closer to me, to my great discomfort.

"Um…I'm thirteen?" I reply, looking warily at him. He looks mildly disappointed, and I quickly look down. I see two pictures on the floor that are rather stained with dirt. I stoop to pick them up.

"Hey." I tap on Hayate's shoulder. "Matsudaichi-san. Are these two dirty pictures yours?"

"Oh, that's a picture of my sister!" he exclaims, taking one picture from me, brushing the dirt off. A student sitting nearby turns around and gives us a disgusted look, to my great amusement.

When I turn back to Hayate, he has a dreamy look in his eyes. He continues on, "And the other picture is my Cool Blue Sky, the love of my life, Imai Hotaru!" Brushing away the dirt from the remaining picture, I see an unsmiling young girl with black hair and violet eyes.

"Um…pardon my rudeness, Matsudaichi-san…" I start, but Hayate interrupts me by waving his hand and saying happily, "Oh, not at all, Karin-chan! Just ask away, and no need to be so formal. Call me Hayate!"

Smiling at him, I continue, "Hayate-kun, Imai-san looks a little young to be the love of your life."

"She is, in fact, very young." He says brightly. "She is ten years old!" The dreamy expression returns. "And yet, she's so beautiful. Exactly like Cool Blue Sky…" This guy is kind of weird…just my luck. I get assigned a seat next to a pedophile!

"Ay, Hayate…" A voice comes from behind me. I turn around in my seat and see Tsubasa sitting right behind me, feet propped up on his desk, and orange cap pulled over his eyes. "Shut up about Imai already. We've heard it a million times."

"_Andou_?" I exclaim. I certainly didn't notice he was here. But, Misaki is in this class, so figures Tsubasa would be in this class too.

"Karin?" He lifts the hat from his eyes, takes his feet off the desk, and leans closer to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to study, of course, _Andou_." I say icily.

Hayate is looking from me to Tsubasa, and says, "You two know each other?"

"Just met her this morning." Tsubasa grins, looking at me. "And yet, I feel she hates me already."

"That's not really a big surprise." Hayate says dryly. They both look at me.

"I don't hate you, _Andou._" I mutter, embarrassed.

"You say my last name like it's a cuss word." Tsubasa grins even wider, if that's even possible. "Just call me by my first name." Then he turns back to Hayate and says, "I'm sure Karin doesn't want to hear about your sick infatuation with Miss Imai."

"Actually," I interrupt, before Hayate can argue heatedly back, "I think that it's quite nice that he has the emotional capability to care for someone that much." Hayate beams at me, while I shoot a glare at Tsubasa that clearly says, "Shut up."

"That reminds me, Karin-chan!" Hayate says excitedly. "I recently wrote a sonnet! I'd like to show you it! It's entitled, 'A Sonnet to Imai Hotaru's Brain.' Let me take it out right now!"

"Matsudaichi-kun!" Misaki-sensei barks. One corner of my mouth twitches upward. We're busted, yet I want to smile. Hayate is just such a funny person, and I am enjoying his company more than I should, even though he probably is a pedophile.

"Since you seem to enjoy Sakurai-san's company so much, I'll give you the privilege of being her partner." The whole class "oohs."

I feel my face heat up, although I'm not sure why. Misaki volunteers herself to be Mitsuki's partner, while Hana is assigned to a girl named Miyazono Yuri. Hayate winks at me, and when the lesson begins, allows me to share his textbook.

For the remainder of the day, we zoom through math, English (which was easy), Japanese (this was harder), and history (which is the last period of the day). During PE, the teacher issues us our PE uniforms, which consists of a white T-shirt and red bloomers. What joy.

At the beginning of history class, to my complete confusion, Tsubasa and Hayate both get called out. Before Hayate leaves, he rummages around in his backpack and withdraws his history book.

"Here. Keep this." He says. "Take notes for both of us, okay?"

"Me too, please!" Tsubasa pipes up. Sneaking a look in Misaki's direction, he says teasingly, "Your writing has got to be neater than Misaki's." Misaki turns around and sends Tsubasa a death glare, making me giggle.

"Bye, Karin!" Hayate says as he leaves.

"Yeah, see you later, Karin. Tell Mitsuki, Hana, and Misaki I said bye too." Tsubasa says. A worried expression is on both of their faces, making me even more puzzled than before.

The last thing I see of them before they're fully out the door is Tsubasa's fingers in a "peace" sign.


	4. The Dangerous Ability Room

Chapter Four: The Dangerous Ability Room

_**Author's Note:**__ I were asked these questions in my reviews. The characters shall now answer them._

_In the previous chapter, why does Karin say "Andou" so oddly?_

_**Karin (bluntly):**__ I didn't know how to pronounce it correctly, and was too chicken to ask._

_Did the main characters think Persona was a girl?_

_**Hana:**__ Actually, I knew he was a guy…he doesn't look that much like a girl…_

_Does Persona like Hana?_

_**Hana: **__Can we not talk about this?_

_**Mitsuki: **__Yes, Persona does like Hana. Get over it._

_**Hana (stroking her chin): **__Or does he?_

_As for the "Karin likes Hayate,"_

_**Karin:**__ CLASSIFIED! Nah, I'm just joking. All will be revealed in due time._

_**Mitsuki: **__I'd like some chocolate chip cookies. …please…_

* * *

**Chapter Four: The Dangerous Ability Room**

As we file out of the room of our last class, I catch a glimpse of familiar darkness.

"Persona…" I mutter under my breath. When most of the students already leave for their special class, Persona walks briskly over to us.

"I trust your first day was satisfactory?" he says, seeming to address Hana more than ever.

"Yes, thank you." She replies softly.

"Follow me." Persona says shortly. "I'll take you to the Dangerous Ability room."

He leads us through endless seeming staircases, corridors, and hallways. I wonder how we'll ever remember the way there. Finally, we arrive in front of doors that seem the same as any other door in the Academy.

Persona turns around and says, "I must leave you now. On normal days, I would join you here, as I am the moderator of the Dangerous Ability group, but I still have some unfinished business to take care of." His eyes flicker around nervously. "Good-bye."

"Good-bye." We all echo tiredly. I'm rather tired now, and I'm not sure if I want to meet any more new people. What I want to do is go check out my dorm, do my homework, make my report, and go to sleep.

I mentally give myself a slap on the cheek. It would do no good to meet new people with a surly expression. After Persona is far from sight, I try to lighten the mood by saying with a poorly disguised cough, "He still fancies you!"

Hana just glares at me now, and I grin widely, exchanging smirks with Mitsuki.

"Let's just go in." Hana snaps. "I'm pretty sure we're late already."

"Ooh, ooh, I get to knock!" I rap smartly on the door in my trademark sing-song rhythm. Now this is it. I take a deep breath. Soon, we will see all the top Alices of this Academy.

I place my hand on the door and pull.

"Umph!" I pull and I pull, but nothing happens. A long silence ensues, and my eyebrow begins twitching rapidly. I pull again, hoping it would it would open then, but my wish is not granted.

"Phmf!" I turn my head to see Mitsuki clapping her hand across her mouth.

Hana says in a voice choked with laughter, "I think…haha…you're supposed to…heehee…push…hahaheha…"

"Of course." I say sheepishly, pulling at my bangs as I push the door open. "How stupid of me."

"Yeah. You're just a magnet for misfortune." Mitsuki says behind her hand.

I sense something peculiar. Rather than a brightly lit room with students chatting like in the Dangerous Ability Room in America, I only see pitch black. I see utterly nothing.

"What's this?" I mutter so softly only I can here. Then I call out in a louder voice, "Hello?" We stride into the dark room confidently.

It was here, right now, that we do something so idiotic, Joel and Kay would hang their heads in shame. We do something that no one with something to hide should do. We leave our backs open, bare and undefended.

Because of our folly, the next events happen before my brain even has a clue. The door shuts with a loud creak, enclosing us in complete darkness. Then, someone grabs me and slams me into the ground, pinning me down so I cannot as much as move a muscle on my body. Straining my ears, I hear Mitsuki and Hana struggle somewhere close by.

I yell out the first thing that jumps into my mind.

"RAPE! RAPE!"

I know that was a stupid thing to say, but wouldn't you scream that if you were assaulted by a stranger? In fact, it is expected of you. If you didn't scream this…I would stare at you with a weird expression for the next half hour or so.

This statement coming from my lips serves as a suitable distraction. My captor's grip falters, and I knee the person in their gut, then kick the person off me. Hana has already incapacitated her captor, and I can only hope Mitsuki has done the same.

I begin to grope for the wall in the hopes of finding a light switch. I realize I could just use my Alice, but I do not want to use it unless it is absolutely necessary.

Someone beats me to the light switch, causing a huge flood of light to blind my eyes. When I finally stop seeing bright dots, I find myself standing back to back with Hana and Mitsuki. We are completely surrounded by boys and girls, all with menacing expressions on their faces.

I recognize these faces. These faces show no fear, no hesitation to kill and be ruthless. I immediately stiffen, in unison with my best friends, and crouch into a battle position. I want to avoid using my Alice, especially since I am wearing no Alice prevention earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or rings. I had stupidly thought I wouldn't need them. Oh how I was wrong.

"Stop!"

A little girl with brown hair tied up with ribbons jumps out with her arms outstretched, positioning herself in front of us.

"Stop it! They didn't do anything bad!" Her little face is screwed up in a frown, determination shining from her body.

"Get out of the way, Sakura." A boy snarls. "We don't want to hurt you too."

"Heh."

A familiar boy slouches out, stopping beside the little girl, a cocky grin on his face. "You'll hurt her? Try thinking before your words come out of your mouth."

"Tsubasa." I mutter, trying to keep my mouth from involuntarily smiling. I recognize him from that distinguishable star on his cheek.

"What are you guys doing here?" He mutters back to me.

"Why do you think we're here?" Mitsuki hisses back.

Hana groans, "Guys, can we not do this right now?"

"Tsubasa, what's going on?" I ask suspiciously. Something smells fishy. And it's not sushi. I feel as if this was all planned. I certainly hope that this is not an everyday occurrence, because if it is, these people seriously need to see a doctor.

"Well…" Tsubasa begins, a sheepish expression on his face, but he is interrupted by the murderous boy from earlier.

"Orders are orders, Sakura!" he shouts. "So move out of the way!"

"What orders?" the Sakura girl looks utterly confused. I can tell she's clueless.

"Idiot…" the boy snarls, and all of a sudden, without any warning, launches an attack heading directly toward us.

Instead of jumping out of the way, like any sane person would do, the little girl just stands there, brow furrowed, as if she's concentrating very hard. Tsubasa, her supposed protector, does nothing too, just standing there, gawking at her. God, is no one sane anymore?!

I launch myself at her little body, pushing her out of the way of the attack. I hear her squeal briefly, "What are you doing?" I maneuver her on top of me so I won't squish the guts out of her when we will eventually hit the floor.

The left side of my butt is the first part of me that gravity affected. Fine, sure, no problem. It's part of my own weight. But my butt is soon followed by the rest of me, with the added weight of the now-not-so-little girl.

"Oof!" comes out of her mouth as she lands on me.

The words pop out of my mouth before my brain stops to think. Normally, I would be a very strong objector to swearing in public, and especially in front of children, but out of my mouth at this very moment comes, "Shit! That hurt like hell!"

The girl immediately sits up and says worriedly, "Are you okay?"

Sitting up, I open my mouth to reply, but instead of having a nice chat, my instincts scream at me to roll. I tumble over, narrowly dodging a nice, hot fireball. Ooh.

"What the fudge?" I quickly jump out the path of another fireball. I look in the direction the fire is coming from, and see a young black-haired boy with scary red eyes, staring at ME!

Everyone has cleared out of our battleground, watching us intensely. The students are staring at us with a look of glee, while Mitsuki and Hana have looks of horror on their faces.

My temper is boiling so much I think steam must be pouring from my ears. What right do these people have to just randomly attack us? The fact that my Alice is itching to be released is also not helping my situation. Instead, it is making me feel worse, making heat build up inside my body. But I am certainly not going to strip in front of everyone here, so I must suck it up and bear with it.

The little girl starts screaming someone's name. "Natsume! Stop it!" The boy chucking the fireballs with amazing accuracy stops momentarily, and to my utter astonishment, begins running away from the little girl.

In that moment that I'm not moving, he throws a curved fireball at me, and when I finally realize that it's coming toward me, I know it's too late. I have no other choice now.

With a large wave of heat, I drag my arm downwards, and cast a gigantic shield of fire that absorbs the insulting fireball. My anger adds extra spark to my fire, and the ferocity of my attack drops the smug looks off everyone's faces.

I inwardly breathe a sigh of relief. The fire that has been contained for so long is finally out of my system. I want to let loose…burn something…but I must discipline myself…

"Karin!" Mitsuki's cool voice cuts through my fiery reverie. Ice creeps up to kill my diminishing fire. It's Mitsuki's ice, her Alice. My brain calms down, massaged by cool probes, courtesy of Hana's Alice, mind manipulation.

"Good. There's no more fire in her eyes." Hana mutters.

"Thanks." I say, giving them a smile. They always manage to get me out of trouble. "How's the kid?" I look over at the black-haired boy, who is sprawled on the ground, pinned down by the little girl, who is saying some words that I cannot hear to him. She eventually lets him up, and he seems to be calmer now. At least he's not tossing his fireballs at my face anymore; although his Alice's power is quite astonishing. I'd bet it could almost even rival mine.

All around us, I hear people whispering.

"Hey, she has the fire Alice, just like Natsume-kun…"

"I saw that other girl use ice. Maybe she has the ice Alice, like Nobara-san?"

"Yeah, hopefully she can control it better than Nobara…"

"I wonder what Alice that skinny girl has."

Tsubasa, standing by the little girl and boy, beckons us to come over. We walk over to him. The boy is still staring at me, although there is less venom in his gaze than before.

"Amazing display, Karin! You totally kicked Natsume's butt!" Tsubasa crows.

I shrug and say, "Eh."

I am frustrated with myself. By that little stunt, I just said good-bye to a minute of my lifespan. Not cool! Every single minute counts to me. Mitsuki and Hana also face the same problem I do. Sure, our Alices are super powerful, but when we use them, our lifespans are shortened. That's why we distinctly try to avoid using our Alices; trying to use them only when they're needed.

Tsubasa interrupts my thoughts b saying, "I know you meant well, but Mikan has the nullification Alice, so she can stop any attack. Man, I didn't know you guys were D.A…"

My pride hurt, I sit down heavily beside the little girl and groan, "Why didn't' you stinking tell me before I stupidly humiliated myself before everyone in the room?" Mitsuki laughs at me and Hana smiles.

I turn to the little girl and say perkily, "Sorry about nearly squishing you earlier. My name's Sakurai Karin. What's your name?"

"My name is Sakura Mikan! Nice to meet you, Karin-senpai!"

"Who's your friend?" I look over at the boy sitting next to her. He narrows his eyes into crimson slits and glares at me, saying nothing.

"This guy is Hyuuga Natsume." Tsubasa explains to me.

Mikan pipes up, "Who're your friends, Karin-senpai?"

I look up at Mitsuki and Hana. "Well, introduce yourselves!"

"Do we have to?" Mitsuki whines.

"Yes." I reply matter-of-factly.

"Fine." Mitsuki sighs. "My name is Sakurai Mitsuki."

"My name's Narita Hana." Hana says, "Nice to-"

Hana is interrupted by someone yelling, "Karin-chan!" I turn around at the sound of my name and see Hayate running toward me.

"Hayate-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Karin-chan, I am so sorry. If I had known you were one of them…" He grins sheepishly. "I'm doing a rotten job of being your partner, aren't I?"

One of them? Yep, something definitely smells fishy. Flashing a smile at him, I say brightly, "It's not your fault, Hayate-kun."

Hana turns to Tsubasa and asks him, "You were about to say something earlier, Tsubasa-kun? Right before Karin and Natsume-kun fought."

"Oh yeah, that." Tsubasa says, sheepish expression back. "Well, you know how Hayate and I were called out of class?" I nod excitedly. Tsubasa sounds like he is going to impart some important information.

"You know Persona, right?"

Mitsuki nods while I say briskly, "Yes, yes, please continue."

"Well, Persona was the one who called us out. Actually, he called out all the people in the D.A class. Said something about testing the abilities of the newbies." Seeing our expressions, he hastily adds, "Once again, I had no idea…"

My brain is reeling, assessing all this new information. So Persona was behind all this.

"Did Persona tell Natsume to attack Karin?" Mitsuki asks abruptly.

Hayate answers her, with a mildly bewildered expression. "Actually, no. Natsume-kun acted on his own will. His attack was not planned at all."

I look over at Natsume, who sulks moodily next to Mikan. "That was quite an attack." I offer half-heartedly, trying to make conversation with him. Silence, plus a glare.

"What's your Alice shape?" I try again, becoming more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Once again, silence. I can practically hear crickets chirping an entire sonata.

"I look forward to getting to know you better. Maybe we can train together sometime?" Natsume actually turns his head to me and opens his mouth to speak. Inside, I'm glowing with joy. Finally, I got a reaction out of him! This boy is even more anti-social than Mitsuki was. Nothing that a couple of days with me and Hana couldn't fix.

Instead of decent conversation, my jaw almost drops from the words that he says.

"Why would I want to train with such a weak, ugly person?"

So…he wants to play this game, huh? Well…this type of game isn't my specialty, but I'll try my best.

Coolly, I say back to his face, "I know you are, but what am I?"

"Ooh!" Tsubasa laughs, clearly enjoying this. "You going to take that, Natsume?"

You're not the only one with fire in you, Natsume. Heheheh. Judging from his face, I can tell he's not used to people acting this way to him.

He glares at me with a mega scary expression and is about to give a retort, when a familiar voice from the door interrupts him.

"Now, now, kids. It's not good to fight! And on your first day too…" I whip my head around so fast, my hair flies up.

"Why, good afternoon Narumi-sensei." I say, while Mikan begins squealing and runs across the room towards him. With amused expressions, Mitsuki, Hana, and I watch Narumi-sensei swing Mikan around, making her cry out with delight. Out of the corner of my eye, I sneak a peek at Natsume, who turns away from the cute sight, muttering under his breath, "Perverted teacher…"

I suddenly remember something I had wanted to ask him earlier. "Narumi-sensei?" I say. He turns his head towards me and goes "Hm?" with a smile while putting Mikan down.

"What's your Alice?"

He smiles a devilish smile. "Pheromonal Inclination." I must have a clueless look on my face, because he adds, "It means that I have the ability to attract people regardless of gender." With a giggle, he continues. "I can make anyone obey me, but if I use it on a child who is inexperienced in love matters, they will generally grow very weak, and maybe even faint!" He winks suggestively at Natsume, who gives him a killer glare.

"And that's a good thing?" Mitsuki says skeptically.

"I'd say that is a very good thing." He bends down and smirks in her face. "Do you want me to demonstrate?"

Uncomfortably shying away, Mitsuki mumbles, "No thanks, I'm good."

"I'd like to see it!" I say excitedly.

Narumi-sensei sweeps the entire room with his gaze and calls out, "Any volunteers?" He glances especially at Natsume again, who deliberately turns his back on him.

"Oh, whatever." I mutter. I look up at Tsubasa, a light bulb turning on in my head. A growing grin on my face, I say, "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner." Tsubasa looks at me warily.

"Narumi-sensei." I reach up to grab Tsubasa's shoulders, stopping his attempt at escaping. With a wide smile, I push Tsubasa forward. "Tsubasa gladly volunteers for the sake of educating new students."

Gulping audibly, Tsubasa stammers, "No, Tsubasa doesn't."

Mitsuki smoothly fills in, pushing the other side of him forward, "Yes, Tsubasa does."

Narumi-sensei sighs, "I was hoping for Natsume-kun…I do enjoy embarrassing him…" he brightens, "but Tsubasa-kun will do."

Tsubasa bristles. "What do you mean 'Tsubasa-kun will do?' Well, bring it on!"

My eyes widen instinctively, and I put on my glasses, partially to see better, and partially to take pictures and video record. I switch on that function, then settle back to watch the demonstration.

Narumi-sensei bends down to Tsubasa's cheek, and gives him a peck. My jaw drops open. Tsubasa's surprised face quickly slides to a deep blush, and he just stands there, eyes focused on only one person. Narumi-sensei.

Rather worried, I walk over to Tsubasa. "Whoo-hoo! Tsubasa still in the house?" I wave my hand in front of his face. "Look!" I make my face surprised. "It's Misaki dressed in a bikini!" He still stares at Narumi-sensei, with an expression full of ardor. I remark to Mitsuki and Hana, "Yup, he's out for sure."

"Now watch this." Narumi-sensei says, winking at me. He turns to Tsubasa and says clearly, "Dance like a chicken."

To my amazement, Tsubasa folds his arms up into makeshift wings and starts flapping them up and down. He hops from one foot to the other. Everyone in the room laughs freely. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a smirk tugging at the corner of Natsume's mouth, while Mikan is watching Tsubasa dance with a mirthful expression.

Her giggle attracts the attention of Narumi-sensei, who then orders Tsubasa, "Go kiss Mikan-chan!"

"Eh?" Mikan starts as Tsubasa turns toward her. Everyone laughs again, except Natsume, whose smirk is gone and replaced with a scowl. With a red-stained face, Mikan runs away from Tsubasa, who chases after her, unable to stop. "Aaaaah… Nonononono!!"

Chuckling, I say, "Narumi-sensei, I think that's quite enough. Let's preserve what's left of Tsubasa's dignity and save Mikan-chan from wetting herself."

"Okay, fine."

Watching Tsubasa's face carefully, I see it regain its normal color. Hiding a smile, I assume a surprised expression again, point toward the door, and cry, "Look! It's Misaki in a bikini again!"

"Eh? Again? Where?!" Tsubasa whirls around, sees no Misaki and bikini, then turns back to me with a surly expression while I put away my glasses.

I grin in his face, wave to Mitsuki and Hana, and bellow, "He's back!"

"Okay, fun time is over. Have to get to business now." Narumi-sensei adopts a gentle smile. "I've come to take you to get your ID cards and textbooks."

"Catch you guys later!" I call as I head towards the door where Narumi-sensei is waiting, along with Mitsuki and Hana.

"Bye Karin-senpai, Mitsuki-senpai, Hana-senpai!" Mikan calls back.

"See ya!" Tsubasa winks.

"Good-bye, Karin-chan." Hayate says over his shoulder. I cannot help it; I smirk at Natsume, who silently fumes and shoots me a "you-haven't-won-yet" look. We follow Narumi-sensei into the great unknowns of this school that is peculiarly called Alice Academy.


	5. First Night

_Sorry this chapter took so long to arrive. It got held up at the airport. Writer's Block has been snowing down for several months (I lost count) and all communications have been cut off. Now, it has finally arrived. I hope you enjoy._

I quickly walk away from that pinkish-looking robot with a funny feminine voice. No offense to the creator, but she just really weirds me out. I'll find my room on my own. Hana and Mitsuki have gone their separate ways, the search for their rooms a task they must do on their own. Hopefully my room is nearby to Hana's and Mitsuki's rooms. That reminds me, Hana has the laptop. I wonder how I'm going to find her?

My thoughts are rambling. I look at my key. No number, no anything at all. Just a stupid, plain key. _Darn it._ I think, frustrated. _Does this mean I have to talk to that robot?_ My brain feels fried, and I feel like a piece of limp chicken. It already takes most of my strength to keep my back erect under the tremendous weight of several textbooks crammed inside my backpack. Narumi-sensei had taken me and my friends to the library, where a nice boy (his name escapes me at the moment) took our pictures and relinquished our ID cards. Mine sucked, as always, while Mitsuki's was acceptable and Hana acquired a mysterious look.

_Robot, here I come. Can't run away any longer._ I turn around and go back the way I just came from. To my great surprise, the pink robot is right around the corner, startling the crap out of me.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" The robot says in her robotic voice.

"Um…" I'm at a loss for words. I'm holding a conversation with a robot, for goodness' sakes, it's not natural! I thrust my key out at her. "Can you help me find my room?"

The robot plucks the key out of my fingers and examines it closely. My jaw drops when I see her consume it.

"H-Hey!" I shout. "That's my key!"

"Stay calm." The robot holds out a "hand" that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but was anything except reassuring. I watch with wide eyes as her midsection (abdomen?) vibrates, and then, with a soft _clunk!_, my key reappears in a little cavity that was previously covered by a sheet of pink metal. The pink robot takes the key out of the cavity gently, and hands it back to me. The sheet of metal clamps shut back over the cavity.

"Follow me." The robot whirls down the corridor. "But be quiet. Children might be sleeping."

"Right." I pad softly after her, desperately hoping that my room wasn't far. Perhaps I have a fear of moving machines that has lain dormant in my heart and my brain for many years. The fear just had to choose now, during one of the most important missions of my life, to announce its presence. I inwardly sigh.

"Not far now." The robot continues gliding down another corridor. "You're a Special Star, so we will accommodate you in one of the biggest and luxurious rooms in the Academy."

"Joy." I mutter, my shoulder beginning to ache from my poor, straining shoulder strap.

"Je-I mean, Karin!" A familiar voice just called my name. I turn around and I see Hana waving at me, another one of those pink robots leading the way.

"Hi Hana!" I wave back at her, then quickly call over my shoulder as I hurry to catch up to my pink robot, "Tell me where your room is later!"

My robot zooms through the halls, then finally stops. I lean against the wall, panting slightly. The robot turns to me and says, "We are now at the entrance to the Special Stars' rooms." She continues on at a slower pace, hopefully because she sees how worn out I must look. In a not-so-far distance, I see another familiar silhouette.

"Mitsuki?" I call questionably.

"Yeah. Who else?" Mitsuki turns around and looks at me. "Oh. You don't have your glasses on. No wonder."

"Your room is right here, Miss." The pink robot says politely.

"Oh." I look at the door. "Right next to Mitsuki's. Wonderful!" The pink robot begins to leave. I gulp, gather a deep breath, and say in a rush, "Thank you very much!"

If robots could beam, this robot would've. "You're very welcome, Miss." She says before rolling away as gracefully as a robot could.

"Now we just have to find Hana." I begin to say, but I'm interrupted by Hana's voice.

"No you don't. Because I'm already here." Turns out her room is right next to mine.

Something smells fishy here. This seems _way_ too convenient. My instincts scream, _THIS IS SUSPICIOUS! WATCH YOUR BACK!_ I voice my thoughts to Hana and Mitsuki, and they agree with me.

"This makes it too easy for us to communicate with each other." Hana says thoughtfully.

"Don't forget, we have all the same classes together too." Mitsuki interjects.

I yawn. "Whatever will come will come. We just have to be prepared for the worst. No one knows we're spies anyways. Anyone up for a sleepover in Hana's room?"

"Are we allowed to do that? I think they do dorm checks." Hana says worriedly.

"Fine." I yawn again. "Better safe than sorry then. Can we just change into our pajamas first? Then we'll come over to your room to do our report on the laptop, and then we'll go back to our rooms to sleep. I am so tired…"

"Wait…where's our entire luggage?" Mitsuki grins sheepishly. "In the excitement of getting to ride in a limo, I…forgot completely about our suitcases."

"You're not the only one." I say, a frown being etched on my face.

"Don't worry." Hana smiles. "I was talking with that nursery robot while she was taking me to my room, and she says that all our things have been taken care of. They're all safely in our rooms, unpacked and ready to go."

"Good." This time, Mitsuki yawns. "I don't want to unpack all my things myself. I'm too lazy."

"Me too." I stretch my arms out over my head, giving me a relaxed look. In fact, my brain's gears are whirling at top speed. If they unpacked all our stuff… that means that they saw everything that was inside our suitcases. That means…they might've seen the laptop in Hana's suitcase! And anything that can be used as a communication device is banned in Alice Academy! _Well,_ I amended, since Mitsuki, Hana, and I have tons of spy communication devices with us, _anything that they can find._

"Hana." Mitsuki and I say at the same time, while Hana immediately paled.

"The laptop." We all say together in unison. It's so nice to be with people on the same brain wave as you.


	6. Communication

Hana fumbles with her key as she desperately tries to unlock her door. "Stay calm, Hana." I try to say. "There's always a chance that perhaps they didn't find the laptop."

_Oh, who am I kidding?_ I think. _They definitely found it, and they definitely threw it out. Goodbye, communication with Joel and Kay._

Hana finally manages to open the door, and we all rush in. Hana flicks on the light switch, and bright lights turn on, revealing a humongous chandelier. In the midst of my horror, I manage to observe the room at the same time. Hana's room is absolutely beautiful. The laptop completely leaves my mind, the beauty of the room astounding me. The room is spacious and decorated tastefully, instead of the gaudy designs and colors I had expected. I can see that Hana's bed is HUGE, and looks as if it could swallow her up if she decided to jump on it right then and there. A silky-looking dark, forest green comforter is spread on top of it, with pillows of the same color nestled against the oak headboard.

On the other side of the room sits a large desk made of the same type of wood as the bed's headboard. In front of the desk is a comfortable-looking dark green chair with small, black wheels attached to the bottom of it, designed for comfort with the sitter in mind. Next to the desk sits a prim little metal wastebasket, ready to swallow up trash.

I see a large oak door, probably leading to the bathroom. Nearby the bathroom door, there is a big wardrobe, complete with drawers. Hana; who was poking around the room with Mitsuki, both looking for the laptop while I was busy admiring the room; walks over to the wardrobe and opens it. All her coats, jackets, and sweaters are hung up on a pole parallel to the bottom of the wardrobe, along with her school uniform. They look pristine, completely wrinkle-free. Mitsuki helps Hana open up all the drawers, and I see her shirts, pants, skirts, socks, and underwear are all folded up neatly, categorized into each drawer, and put away in its rightful place with care.

"Are you just going to stand there all night drooling?" Mitsuki snaps. "Come help us look!"

"All right, all right! Sorry." I head to the bathroom, eager to see what it looks like. In my curiosity, my would-have-been annoyance at Mitsuki's snappy remark completely dissolved. "I'll look in the bathroom, while you guys continue out here."

I practically run to the oak door, and swing it open with no hesitation. I gasp in awe and my knees tremble. I'm threatening to swoon and melt on the floor. This bathroom…could be the most beautiful place to excrete waste I have ever seen. I know, I'm a sucker for clean places.

The entire room sparkles. The floor is tiled with swirled gold and white tiles. There is an upright shower with transparent glass and a large, white bathtub right beside it. There are two sets of shampoo, conditioner, and body soap; one set inside the shower on a white metal shelf, the other set on an oak shelf just within reach from the bathtub.

The toilet was simply marvelous. Perfectly clean, without a trace of excretion on it. It even has a special machine that monitors the temperature of the toilet seat for you. For example, if mornings are especially cold, that machine will warm up the seat for you so you can take a dump in comfort. A plump roll of toilet paper is positioned near the toilet, along with a small, squirting hose hanging on the side of the large part of the toilet (I forgot what it's called), so you can clean yourself after the act any way you want to.

The sink and the mirrors are spotless. I cannot find a fault anywhere. "They" provide a little dark green cup to put your toothbrush and toothpaste in, and even provide an option of a special kind of toothbrush and toothpaste that is guaranteed to obliterate all cavities before they have a chance to spread. The mirror just reflects everything back, but strangely enough, everything seems to look even prettier in the reflection the mirror shows you. How interesting…

"Karin! Is the laptop in there?" Hana calls, with a hint of desperation in her voice.

I reply a little guiltily, "Sorry, no!"

I hear Mitsuki mumble suspiciously under her breath, "Of course a laptop wouldn't be in a _bathroom_, now would it?"

"Now how are we supposed to do our report?" Hana wails miserably.

"You already checked everywhere in the room, right?" I ask.

"Yeah. _Twice_." Mitsuki snorts, half angrily. "Damn those robots! They must've thrown it away."

I look halfheartedly underneath the bed, although I know the laptop won't be there. I don't know what to do. Mitsuki and Hana have glum expressions on their faces. It's growing kind of stuffy with the aroma of failure in the room, so I walk to the window and unlatch the lock. I push the window open and lean on the sill, looking up at the dark sky. Here, in the endless grounds of Alice Academy, unhindered by the faraway city lights of Tokyo, I can see the moon and stars as clear as ever. A cool wind blows in, making me shiver. My mind thinks idly, searching for a logical and reasonable explanation to this new problem.

I've just begun to relax, when I see a large silhouette on the wall out of the corner of my eye. _What the hell is that,_ I think, a bit frightened, although I'm careful not to show it. Instead of alerting my friends, I stay silent, not wanting to cause a false alarm. I watch the silhouette slowly, but surely, make its way up the wall. Towards me.

Then, it suddenly disappears. I'm startled, and I stretch out farther over the windowsill to see where it's gone. I don't see it anywhere. I relax again, thinking it must've been an animal or a shadow of something flying overhead.

All of a sudden, something flies in through the window, pummeling my stomach and knocking the wind from me. It makes me stumble backwards, and the strength with which it knocked into me is enough to make me fall and roll over a couple of times. It pins me down.

I quickly look at it, trying to assess my situation. Instead of seeing a dangerous enemy, I see a gigantic…

TURTLE. I mean, this big baby was Crush from Finding Nemo size. HUGE, LARGE, and probably not as friendly.

"For the love of God, get this freaky turtle off me!" I howl, surprised. And I absolutely _hate_ being surprised in the bad way. "Mitsuki! Hana! Help me!"

"Where did that turtle come from?" Mitsuki approaches us cautiously.

Hana, who is a type of Christian herself (The particular branch of Christiantiy escapes me at this…oh I don't know…_unimportant?_ time), scolds me, "Do not take the Lord's name in vain!"

I just feel like screaming at them, _What the hell are you thinking about? Just get this damn thing off of me!_

The turtle cocks its head and stares at me. I stare at it back, daring it to do something. Its mouth opens and out comes, "State your name."

"Damn." Mitsuki gapes at the turtle.

"Tell it your name, Karin." Hana says, looking a little frightened herself.

Frustrated, I seethe, "Which name? My Japanese name, or my real name? I definitely won't tell it my real name until I know whether or not this _thing_ belongs to one of our enemies!"

"Just tell it your Japanese name, then!" Mitsuki growls, equally frustrated.

"Sakurai Karin!" I spit at the turtle.

The turtle replies, "Your real name, please."

"Like hell I'll tell you my real name!"

"Your real name, please." The turtle pauses for a second, then says, to my great surprise, "You can whisper it in my ear."

I gawk at the turtle in disbelief. What in the world is going on? The turtle inclines the side of its head to me. "Should I?" I ask Mitsuki and Hana nervously.

"We'll just kill it if it's an enemy machine." Mitsuki says nonchalantly. I nod my head and yell at the turtle for good measure.

"Did you hear that? We'll kill you if you betray me!" The turtle shows no sign that it recognizes my threat, keeping its head inclined towards me.

I tilt my head up to where I thought its ear might be, and begin to whisper.


	7. Loneliness

"Wait, stop!" Hana screams, knocking the turtle off me. I gratefully stand up. Finally! Someone actually complied with my request!

"Don't tell it your real name!" Hana says loudly. "We don't want…Koyashi…to find out that you are the one who…stole his…laptop!"

What the hell? I look at Mitsuki. She looks equally mystified. I decide to say something. "Hana, what-"

"Koyashi may have installed some bugs and video cameras around here!" Hana stutters. She desperately rolls her eyes around the room, obviously trying to tell us something. "Bugs! Listening devices! Video cameras! The works!" She forces a smile upon her face. "Koyashi's a clever man, I tell you! Trying to hide his laptop in the form of a turtle!"

Oh! I see what she's trying to tell us now. The room is bugged! And the fact that we're spies has to be kept secret. Oh shit. If the room is bugged, then…the hallway probably was too! Oh man! I probably blew our cover. And now…Hana is trying to save our butts. Plus…our laptop…is probably THE TURTLE! Oh my GOD!

I sneak a look at Mitsuki, who looks back at me. I wink at her, and she smiles at me. Oh, we're going to have serious fun with this. Hana wants us to ACT.

"Oh, don't call him 'clever' in front of me!" I scowl. "_That _man! After jilting me…after toying with my emotions that way!" I fling my head back and raise my hand to my forehead. With my eyes closed, I say, "_That_ man deserves everything he's going to get."

Mitsuki says gleefully, rubbing her hands together, "We're going to make that jerk regret he was ever born."

Hana smiles gratefully, and lets us continue to fabricate the story.

"Yes!" I say dramatically. "I gave him my love; and he scorned me. That traitor, that scoundrel, that _recreant_ was going out behind my back with a horrible, ugly bi-"

"Eh-hem." Mitsuki clears her throat meaningfully, shooting a dirty glare at me. I grin at her sheepishly, realizing I've gone too far, being too caught up in the moment.

"Oh, I apologize, my dear friend!" I run to Mitsuki and catch her hands up in mine. "My dear, beautiful friend! I did not mean to treat you so." Mitsuki's cheeks have turned pink, and she's shaking in my arms. I'm shaking as well, not believing how such corny things are spilling out of my mouth.

"How can I call you that when you have done so much to assist me? You, who is my best friend! Without you I could not have infiltrated Koyashi Industries; after I found out he was cheating on me of course; and stolen Koyashi's most important laptop! Of course it cannot be your fault that Koyashi, my lecherous, rich ex-boyfriend, was so aroused when you stepped into the ballroom that he dropped me in the midst of a dip in the dance!"

We cannot help it; Mitsuki, Hana and I all burst into spontaneous laughter. We're rolling on the floor, gasping for breath. "You guys!" Hana yells, panting for breath. "You messed up the scene!"

"I'm sorry, Hana!" I giggle. "But that was just too funny! How can you expect _me_, of all people, to be able to keep a straight face while saying that?"

After one more burst of laughter, Hana makes a serious face. "Alright you guys, let's finish rehearsing the rest of the scene." I think she has more she wants to tell us. "Oh, Karin!" she says dramatically, scooping the turtle up in her arms. "I know you want your revenge. But we cannot do it here; not in the midst of the territory occupied by the enemy. They might catch us soon!"

"But where do you suggest, Hana?" Mitsuki asks.

"Yes. Where?" I ask eagerly too.

"Somewhere, far away from here." Hana wiggles her eyebrows at us, wanting to make sure we understood her as much as possible. "We need to hack into…his bank account as soon as possible. Tomorrow if possible! Is that not what you want the most?"

"…Yes, of course." I say solemnly. "When all his money is gone…money being his...first and foremost love in the world…he will know how I felt when he cheated on me with my own best friend."

"Scene ENDED!" Mitsuki says abruptly. Hana and I smile triumphantly. We have made it across this complicated barrier.

"Yes!" I pump my fist in the air. "You guys…WE ROCK!"

Mitsuki decides she needs to put a damper on my excitement. "Not to burst your bubble or anything, but since we don't go to…Koizumi Koichi High School anymore, we don't exactly have to rehearse this play anymore…"

My fist stops halfway in the air. "Oh yeah. I forgot."

Hana shrugs. "Oh well. It was fun anyway. I kind of like the idea of being a spy out for revenge."

Mitsuki breathes a sigh of relief. "Finally. We can stop all these rehearsals. I'm so tired of this STUPID play. I absolutely HATED my part, and I HATED my lines!"

"I bet you HATED your costume even more." I tease her. Hiding a smile, Mitsuki fakes a shudder.

"This turtle is absolutely so cute." Hana hugs the turtle tight, giving me and Mitsuki a cautionary look. "I'm so glad that our classmates allowed us to take it with us. I'm going to keep on taking care of it, all right?"

"Yeah, sure. I _really_ wanted to take care of a hard **fake** turtle." Mitsuki says sarcastically, putting extra emphasis on the 'fake.'

"Okay." I yawn a real yawn. "I'm tired." I startle and my body gives a jerk. "Shit."

"Karin?" Hana says, shooting me a questionable look. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot about my homework."

"Damn!" Mitsuki swears. "I did too!"

Hana gasps. "Me three!"

"Good night, you guys!" I'm already out of the room, running frantically to my own room. I sneak a peek at my watch as I unlock the door of my room. "Thank God it's only seven…"

"forty-five…" My eyes close tiredly.

I quickly flick on the light switch, looking over my room quickly. It looks almost exactly like Hana's room, except the color scheme is different, being a dark shade of red, and instead of oak, the main wood is mahogany. I swing my backpack under my mahogany desk, slam out my textbooks, and hurriedly take out my pencils and several sheets of paper. I flip open my first textbook, and begin to scribble furiously on the paper.

* * *

The next morning, I wake up groggily to the sound of my alarm clock. I'm so sleepy…I groan…I kick off the blanket…and I flop off the bed. On the floor, I hiss, "Ouch! Sorry, floor."

I look at the clock…and my eyes bug out. "Egad! Thirty minutes until cafeteria stops serving breakfast!" Wait…did I just say "egad?" I scramble to the bathroom, grabbing my uniform on the way there. After changing my clothes and brushing my teeth and hair in record time, I sling my backpack over my shoulder and rush out, almost forgetting to lock my door.

I knock on Mitsuki's door and yell, "Mitsuki! Are you awake? We're going to be late!"

I hear absolutely nothing, except a loud thump. I hide a smile as I walk over to Hana's door and do the same thing. "Coming!" I hear her yell. In about seven more minutes, Hana and Mitsuki are out of their rooms, backpacks slung over their shoulders. "Quickly, let's get breakfast." Hana smiles at us.

When we walk through the cafeteria doors, I am amazed again. The room is extremely large, which of course it has to be in order to house the whole student and teacher population at Alice Academy. Hana, Mitsuki, and I get in a long line that was moving rapidly. While we waited, we discussed some homework problems that were assigned, and before we knew it, it was Mitsuki's turn to get breakfast.

I grimace, although I hope nobody notices. The entire kitchen staff is made up of those pink robots too. Why don't they just make us robot teachers as well? I wouldn't mind there being robot students either…

The robot says, "Your ID card please."

"ID?" Mitsuki looks back at Hana and me. "Okay…" She fishes around in her backpack for her ID, which had its own wallet-like covering. The robot takes it delicately from her hand…

And sticks it into her mouth. Mitsuki and Hana honestly don't look that surprised, and while I shouldn't have been surprised, the sight of something important going down something's throat is EXTREMELY disconcerting. First our room keys, now our ID cards? What doesn't go into these robots' mouths?

The robot says, "Processing. Please wait." Finally, with a _ding!_ Mitsuki's ID card is back, although I don't really want to know where the card exited the robot. Wrinkling her nose slightly, she gingerly takes her card back from the robot.

"Which set would you like today? Set A or Set B?" The robot inquires exquisitely.

"Um…" Mitsuki is at a loss for words. "Set B?"

The robot zooms off to the kitchens…and comes back with a gourmet meal. Wow. I mean serious WOW. All of our eyes pop out, even the people behind me in the line. THIS…is the special star's breakfast. I'm sure excited about lunch and dinner.

On Mitsuki's plate, there are three courses. She had chosen pancakes as her main course, and what delectable-looking pancakes they are. Soft, fluffy, and tan, the pancakes stand tall and proud on her plate, along with two other dishes, one with two pieces of delicious, crunchy toast, the other with mixed fruits. Next to her plate of pancakes, there are assorted little cups of syrup, and a tiny square of unsalted butter. Beside all of that, an empty cup sits, ready to be filled with any drink Mitsuki desires.

The girl in front of Mitsuki, who had stayed behind to watch when she saw the special star on our collars, is gaping in awe. I sneak a peek at her collar. Single star. She looks balefully down at her own breakfast, which consists of only one wormy-looking pancake and two pieces of untoasted, white bread. Inside, I feel a bit of pity for all the single stars of the Academy.

Hana and I look at each other. "You know what? I feel like pancakes." I remark.

"Yeah, me too." Hana replies, and hands her ID card to the pink robot.

* * *

Once we all have our breakfasts and drinks, we search around for a place to sit. As we walk around, looking for an empty area so we could all sit together, a shout reaches my ears.

"Mitsuki-chan! Over here! Bring your friends too!" Misaki is waving to us from her table, where she sits with Tsubasa and another guy with glasses that's also in our class. I never was told his name.

"Good morning, Misaki-san." Mitsuki says civilly, placing her tray down beside Misaki. Hana follows suit, and I'm left sitting on the edge of the seat.

"Um, hello?" Tsubasa waves his hand in front of himself. "How about me and Megane over here?" Mitsuki completely ignores him, picking up her knife and beginning to cut her pancakes.

"You aren't important enough to be recognized by Mitsuki-chan." Misaki says to him nastily. She turns to Mitsuki. "Wow, nice breakfast. Special star, huh? Like Natsume-kun." Mitsuki nods, continuing on with her breakfast silently. Hana and I follow suit, although I break the silence with a murmured "Itadakimasu." We eat silently for a couple of minutes, my brain recording this new information about that scary kid with the same Alice as me.

"Are you guys always this quiet during meals?" Tsubasa observes.

"Wow, nice job. You can so totally tell they're being real party animals right now." Misaki says sarcastically. The guy named Megane snickers a little bit, earning himself a glare from Tsubasa.

Since Hana and Mitsuki don't seem like they want to talk at all, I decide to reply. "Well, yes, we're usually this quiet. If you talk while you're eating, there's a greater chance you'll spray food on the person you're talking to. And who would want that to happen?"

Tsubasa opened his mouth to reply, but closed it. "That's true, actually." He admitted.

I stand from my seat. "I'm done. Please excuse me." Every except Mitsuki and Hana go wide eyed.

"You're done already?" Tsubasa asks in amazement.

Then, Mitsuki stands up with me. "You're done too?" Misaki asks, surprised, looking down at her half-finished breakfast.

"It's almost time for class to start." She replies, checking her watch. "So we should get going soon."

"All right, I'll be done in a minute." Misaki starts speed eating. Mitsuki cracks a thin smile as she settles down to wait. Hana's partner, Yuri, finds her and whisks her away to class, Hana having strange blotches of pink on her cheeks and looking explicably happy to be holding Yuri's hand.

Tsubasa and Megane tease Misaki before she can put her breakfast in her mouth, causing her to yell some insults at them, then Mitsuki interrupts, telling her to finish eating already. Feeling like the third wheel, I get up and begin to walk away. It's a good thing to see Mitsuki and Hana making new friends, but sometimes it can get lonely as well.

"Hey Karin! Where are you going?" Everyone's heads turn at Tsubasa's outburst, and Mitsuki looks at me unemotionally.

"To class." I say vaguely. "Maybe I'll find Hayate-kun there." And I turn away.


	8. The Scavenger Hunt Begins!

I walk quickly to my classroom, feeling tired already. My head is filled with my jumbled-up feelings, and my brain quivers worriedly as I remember Hana's face when she was with Yuri. Don't tell me…Hana likes Yuri?

I shake my head to clear my brain of these strange thoughts, and concentrate on finding my class. I seriously wonder where it is…

"Karin-chan! Is that you?" I turn my head to the direction of the jovial voice calling me. My eyes widen in surprise. It's Narumi-sensei.

"Good morning, Narumi-sensei." I greet him. "It's nice to see you again."

"Yes, isn't it?" He laughed with glee and begins walking down the hallway, somehow towing me along with him. "I have something for you." He hands me a small white envelope.

I stare at it, then stare back up at him with an inquiring expression on my face. "What is this?"

"You'll see." Narumi-sensei gives me a wink. "Take good care of it. You might need it today." Before leaving, he stops with a startled expression, as if he had just remembered something. "One more thing, Karin-chan. Please do not open the envelope until the right time."

"When is the 'right time'?" I ask quizzically.

Narumi-sensei chuckles and gives me the same vague answer as earlier. "You'll see." And then he dramatically leaves, with a gigantic smile on his face.

When I looked around, I found myself right in front of my classroom. Earlier I had followed Narumi-sensei impulsively, so I didn't realize that he was walking me to my classroom. Thank goodness for that. I know for sure that if he didn't help me, I'd still be wandering around lost.

I walk into the classroom, murmur a quiet "Good morning" to Misaki-sensei, and sit down in my seat. I look at the white envelope, wondering what is in it. But then, I sort of promised not to look in it until the "right time". Well, I didn't really promise, but it seems like I did. And I do not break my promises.

Soon the classroom began to fill up with my classmates, and class finally began. Misaki-sensei began lecturing about cells and DNA and such, and I was doodling aimlessly on my paper. I had already learned all this stuff, so this was pretty much review to me. Talk about boring.

Next to me, Hayate was sneaking peeks at his picture of Imai-san and trying to take notes at the same time. Behind me, Tsubasa appeared to be the perfect student, bent over his paper and scribbling furiously, but he was actually just drawing a funny comic of this unfortunate man who was apparently taking a dump on a new high tech toilet (the toilet actually looked like a little blinking slab, but in captions next to it was written "High Tech Toilet"). In the next panel, the man had the misfortune to stand up before the high tech toilet could clean his bottom for him, so therefore, the man emerged from the bathroom looking like he'd just pissed all over his body. What a work of art.

I look for Mitsuki and Hana. Hana is by Yuri's side…of course…I confess…I'm a bit jealous…Mitsuki is sitting silently in her seat, diligently taking notes.

Suddenly, the door slams open, and a blonde Peter Piper steps in, followed by his gang of elementary school kids. Misaki-sensei's mouth drops in astonishment, and the biology book slips from his hands. "Narumi…"

"Hiya kids! Long time no see!" Narumi-sensei is entirely decked out in a medieval-looking costume, with a feathered cap on his head and a woodwind instrument in his hand. Man, when Narumi-sensei dresses up, he really goes the whole nine yards! I wonder if this is a daily occurrence…

The swarm of kids assemble themselves into the classroom while Narumi-sensei begins talking to Misaki-sensei about something. Misaki-sensei looks extremely exasperated and annoyed, but then eventually sighs and appears to give in to whatever Narumi-sensei was proposing. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mitsuki sneak out of the room. I wonder what she's doing…Perhaps she felt the call of nature…

The whole classroom is laughing at Narumi-sensei and the kids. Mostly the kids. I can only gasp in astonishment. What. The. Hell?

All the girls are wearing red plaid shorts, and all the boys are wearing red plaid…

SKIRTS. Oh God. Is the world coming to an end?

I recognize Mikan and Natsume from the crowd of excited and embarrassed kids…and almost fall over laughing. Natsume…IN A SKIRT! And he doesn't look that happy about it either, a resigned yet determined expression on his face.

Narumi-sensei silences us all by blowing into his flute, producing an ear-splitting shriek. He turns to his class of elementary students and says, "You may now open your clue envelopes! See you later!" And he departs, pulling an upset Misaki-sensei with him. As he was pulled out of the room, I could hear him muttering, "Now I have to go inform all the teachers that their students will be busy with a stupid little _scavenger hunt_ for the day…goodness…it's all your fault…uck you Narumi…" Before Narumi-sensei can completely pull him from the room, Misaki-sensei manages to shout, "You're all excused for the day!"

The kids rip open their envelopes eagerly, and all read their clues at once. I hear snippets of words being read out loud while the whole class of upperclassmen looks bewildered. A blond boy standing beside Natsume reads out loud, "…a boy with dark hair and an orange hat…star on his cheek…"

Not far away from them, Mikan stands with a girly-looking boy and a girl that looks vaguely familiar. Have I seen her before somewhere? Hmm… Mikan reads out loud, "…a girl with long black hair, black eyes…holding a white envelope…special star…" I look around for the girl described. Wait a second…Mikan and company are coming towards me…

Wait…IT'S ME?! I look down at my hands, where I am still holding that envelope Narumi-sensei gave me. Dang. It is me.

The kids walk to up me, and Mikan says cheerily, "Good morning, Karin-senpai!"

"Yo." I give a little nod to show acknowledgement. "Who're _your_ friends, Mikan-chan?"

"Oh!" Mikan moves over and begins to introduce the familiar-looking girl. "This is my best friend, Imai Hotaru!" The girl has purple eyes and black hair. I think I've seen her somewhere before…

"Oh my! I remember now!" I look around for Hayate. "You're that girl in that picture that Hayate-kun has! Cool Blue Sky, I believe. Nice to meet you, Imai-san. I am Sakurai Karin." I bow down slightly.

"Nice to meet you." Hotaru says calmly and quietly. Hmmm…she reminds me a lot of someone…but I wonder who?

"And who might you be?" I smile at the girly-looking boy with round glasses.

"Nice to meet you! My name's Tobita Yuu!"

"Nice to meet you. You know my name already, so no need to reintroduce myself." I stick my hands into my pockets and look around the room. I give a low whistle. "Sure is more chaotic in here than usual. What's the deal with today?" I pointedly look at them, requesting an explanation.

Mikan begins to explain by saying perkily, "We're having a scavenger hunt today!"

A silence fills the air around us. I wait for someone to break it. No one breaks it. I think I'll break it then.

"So…" I start awkwardly. "What's this got to do with me and the other high school students?"

"Narumi-sensei handed us a set of clues." Hotaru hands me a little slip of paper. I read the calligraphy on the paper. "We're on number three; the last one."

I skim down to number three on the list. It says, 'Your elders are much wiser and well-rounded. They'll help you a lot on your journey. Find your high school student!'

"How do you know _I'm_ your high school student?" I ask testily. Hotaru wordlessly handed me another slip of paper. Gosh people, be environment friendly!

I read in my head, 'Clue Number Three: Your high school student is a thirteen year old girl with black hair and black eyes. Don't underestimate her childish charm however; this little girl can create terrifying fire if provoked.'

I feel like laughing. Me, a little girl? If only they knew the deeds I've done, the sins I've committed. And also, I'm a bit bigger than the average Asian girl…maybe it's my personality that's like a little girl?

I find I had missed a little sentence tacked on at the end. 'Also, she's holding a little white envelope that will be your next clue!' _Whaaa??????_

I slowly open the white envelope. "I'll read it out loud for you guys." Taking out a little slip of paper, I read, "'a snake from a male Medusa.'" I look around at the assembled children. "Anyone know what that means?"

Mikan and Yuu look at each other, both with clueless expressions. But Hotaru has a certain mischievous sparkle in her eye as she says, "I think I might know…"

A question pops up in my head and I voice it. "Why are you guys even participating? Is there a prize if you win?" I sneak another peek at Natsume and his blonde friend and stifle a giggle.

"Yes!" Mikan cries. "And it is such a very good prize too!"

"If we win…" Yuu begins slowly. Hotaru cuts in before he can say anything else.

"We get to keep everything."

A brief silence ensues before what she said registers in my mind. Speechless, I point a finger to myself questionably. Hotaru nods her head and says with a hint of maliciousness, "Yes, even the high school student."

What the hell is with this twisted game Narumi-sensei?!


	9. The Male Medusa

"Um…if you win and you keep the high school student…" I stammer. "What will you do with me?"

"Make you be my slave." Hotaru says with a malicious glint in her eye.

"Hotaru!" Mikan yells, looking aghast. "Of course, we'll let her go free!"

I sigh. "I'll help you in your scavenger hunt. But _if_ you win, you have to let me go in the end."

"What help will you be?" Hotaru asks emotionlessly, looking at me with blank purple eyes.

I turn my head toward Tsubasa, who is pointing at Natsume and Ruka's skirts and laughing his ass off. I walk over to him and kick the back of his knees, sending him to the ground, laughing and wincing at the same time. "That's how I can help." I smirk, pointing at Tsubasa, who had tears running down his face.

"Ooh…Tsubasa-senpai…" Mikan's knuckles are at her mouth, as she kneels down beside Tsubasa with a worried expression on her face. I feel a large unpleasant vibe coming from my right side. Jumping slightly, I turn to find Natsume standing beside me, with a scary expression of hate and…jealousy? I muffle a giggle.

"Come on Mikan-chan!" I whisk her off the ground and run to the door. "Hotaru-chan! Yuu-kun! Hurry while they're distracted!"

"Isn't this breaking the rules?" Yuu asks as he runs out the door with Hotaru.

Over my shoulder, I shout, "It's not called breaking the rules if they don't catch you!"

"Go to the Elementary School Branch!" Hotaru calls from behind. "That's where we'll get the answer to our clue!"

"Break!" Yuu calls piteously. "I can't run anymore!" I stop for his benefit. Hotaru looks rather tired too.

"Wow, you're so energetic, Karin-senpai!" Mikan says perkily after I put her down. "You carried me the whole time!"

"Yes. Yes I did." I say absently. "Now why don't you tell me more about this scavenger hunt of yours? Like, for starters, why do you have to wear the opposite gender's uniform? I almost pissed my pants when I saw Natsume…"

"It's one of the rules of the scavenger hunt." Mikan says solemnly. She pats her skirt pockets casually. Slowly, her patting becomes more and more frantic. "Oh no!" she frets worriedly. She looks up sheepishly at us. "I think I lost the rule list."

"It's right here." Yuu holds it up with a slight smile on his face, while Hotaru pulls out a gun out of nowhere and shoots Mikan with it.

"Idiot." Oh sure. Pulling guns out of nowhere and shooting your best friend with it is just a part of everyday life here at Alice Academy. Yes, indeed.

"Here you go, Sakurai-senpai." Yuu hands me a small slip of paper. I resignedly take it.

**Rules**

Go in order.

Must not change your clothes.

No cheating.

Everyone must participate…or else…

Group who wins gets to keep anything from the things collected.

"I see…" I can't think of anything else to say to this. "I see…"

After resting for a couple more seconds, Hotaru takes the lead and says, "Come on, we've got to find Fukutan-sensei and get a lock of his hair."

"Fuku who?" I protect our rear, feeling uneasy, like someone is following us.

"Fukutan-sensei is our homeroom teacher when Narumi-sensei cannot be here to teach us." Yuu explains to me.

I nod. "Oh, is that so? He's your substitute teacher then. But why do we have to get a lock of hair from him?"

Mikan smiles brightly at me. "He has a very special Alice. His Alice enables his hair to grow super long, super fast!"

"Wow." I say sarcastically. "That's so useful."

"He is rather useless." Hotaru admitted. "But in this case, his uselessness will help us achieve what we want."

We're now outside the staff room, where teachers from all the school branches come to meet. "Can we go in?" Yuu frets nervously.

"Who cares?" Mikan whispers. "Let's go in." Wow. The little girl certainly has a sense of adventure. I smile mischievously. The game is so on. But first, I have to get rid of three lurkers leeching off our answers.

"How long did you think you would follow us undetected?" I ask, flaring up a fireball in my hand, whirling around. Hotaru, Mikan, and Yuu look at me questionably. I scan the halls. "Come on, come out. I know you're there." I throw a curveball around a corner nearby, and I produce the desired effect. Tsubasa jumps up, yelling and patting his bottom gingerly.

Natsume and the blonde haired boy emerge after Tsubasa, Natsume with his usual stoic expression, and the blonde haired boy with a hint of a blush around his cheeks. "Natsume!" Mikan calls with surprise in her tone. "Ruka-pyon!"

Ruka-pyon? I'm guessing that's the blonde boy's name then? What's with the –pyon though…

"You wanted to win that badly, eh?" Hotaru says in her emotionless tone. "You would even cheat in order to win. You disappoint me."

Everyone becomes exasperated, as memories of me kicking Tsubasa down probaby resurface in everyone's minds. "What are you talking about, Hotaru…" Mikan asks sheepishly. "Karin-senpai kicked-"

"Never mind that." I say hastily, muffling her with my hand. Mikan wiggles out of my grip.

"Let's go and get a lock of Fukutan-sensei's hair now!" She crows triumphantly, not realizing what she has just done. Yuu grins defeatedly, while I hang my head in exasperation. Hotaru shoots Mikan with her random gun that screams "Idiot!" again.

"Hey." I look up in surprise at the sound of Natsume's voice. His voice has a commanding air. "It's a competition then. First one to get a lock of Fukutan's hair will continue on."

"You're on!" Mikan yelled with an up-for-anything smile.

"Better hurry then…" Natsume sets the edges of Mikan's pigtails on fire. "strawberry panties." Mikan's mouth drops open.

"NATSUME! YOU PERVERT!" She screams and lunges for him. I back away from Natsume slowly. So the little boy is a little pervert too huh? I never expected that…

"Tsubasa-senpai!" Mikan hugs Tsubasa, hugging him and crying into his shirt. Natsume has that scary expression on again. He's so jealous. He looks like he's going to burn Tsubasa to ashes.

To save Tsubasa's butt, I grab Mikan by a pigtail and drag her off, murmuring, "Don't fraternize with the enemy, strawberry panties."

"Wah!" Mikan cries, waving her arms up and down. "Not you too, Karin-senpai!"

We huddle down in our respective groups. "Okay Hotaru-chan." I whisper seriously. "What's the game plan?"

She holds up a pair of normal looking scissors with a gleam in her eye. But, since its Hotaru, you wouldn't be wise to say that the scissors really were normal. Mikan jumps in, saying, "We jump Fukutan-sensei and Hotaru will snip off some of his hair."

"But how will we beat Natsume-kun and the others to the catch?" Yuu asked worriedly.

Hotaru pauses. "You have the Illusion Alice, right?"

Yuu looks at Hotaru. "Yes…"

Hotaru has a scheming look in her eye. "Then, this will be too easy…" I shiver. I sure don't want Hotaru to become my enemy…

We finish planning. Oh my God, Hotaru is an evil genius! "Yuu-kun, are you clear on your part of the plan? Your part is perhaps the most crucial." I say with a veteran air about me. Yuu nods his head with a determined expression on his face.

I turn to Hotaru. "Hotaru-chan, do you have a video camera?" Hotaru whisks out a camcorder.

"Are you ready?" I ask everyone.

"We were born ready!" Mikan replies fiercely.

"All right then." I say, pounding one fist in the air. "The game starts here!"


	10. Cooperation

Mikan, Hotaru, and I huddle together behind the corner which leads to the front of the door to the staff room. Behind the corner is the door to a bathroom, which we are sitting smack dab in front of. Yuu is nowhere to be seen, hiding in a spot where he can see…but cannot be seen himself. I try to contain my evil snickers. Natsume, Ruka, and Tsubasa won't know what hit them!

Fukutan-sensei walks out the door calmly as could be. When he moves, the three of us move as well. We walk toward him, looking happy as could be. "Good morning, Fukutan-sensei!" Mikan gushes.

"Morning." Hotaru says much more quietly, but with a small smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you, Fukutan-sensei." I bow to him, for I've just met him for the first time. "My name is Sakurai Karin."

"Oh, good morning. And nice to meet you too, Karin-san." Fukutan-sensei bows back to me. "What brings you girls here?"

"Oh, nothing." Mikan says sweetly. "We just wanted to say hello to you." She pauses, trying to remember what she was supposed to say next. I elbow her. "Oh!" She remembers. "And we wanted to thank you for all you've done for our class when Narumi-sensei wasn't there!"

"Oh." Fukutan-sensei looks surprised, then starts tearing up, to my great discomfort. I don't like crying adults…I don't know why, so don't ask for a reason. "This has never happened to me before!" He gushes in his turn. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Then he stiffens up. "Please excuse me." He says, crinkling up his eyes. He walks to the bathroom.

Out of the corner of my eye, I detect a shadow flickering, and a flash of red skirt pass by. Together, Mikan and I share smirks while Hotaru presses a button on the remote that controls her camcorder. We open the staff door and step inside.

This room is also richly furnished with all the things an office should have, with red velvet curtains and lush carpeting. In a far corner of the room, sitting calmly before a crystal ball lying on a plump cushion, is a pretty blonde lady with her hair tied up in a ponytail. I scan the room some more, looking for _the real_ Fukutan-sensei. Ah-ha! Found him! He must be that man that's fidgeting in the middle of the room!

Other than the blonde lady and Fukutan-sensei, there's no one else in the room. I quickly slip on my glasses and snap a picture of the whole room, including the lady and Fukutan-sensei. Oh! I forgot to take pictures of Mikan and Hotaru. I'll just do that now too then.

"What are you looking at?" Hotaru asks me, looking blankly back at me. I flinch slightly. Crap. She caught me.

"I'm not really looking at anything." I say as nonchalantly as possible. "I was just thinking about our plan. Do you really think he'll give us a lock that easily?"

"Sure he will!" Mikan says confidently. "Our plan is sure to succeed!"

I sigh. I really don't like this part of our plan. But if this man is as big a sissy as Hotaru and Mikan claim, then it will probably work. Taking a deep breath, I begin to think about a dead puppy.

"Fukutan-sensei…" I say, my voice breaking. Tears are rolling down my face, and I look like I'm trying not to burst out into tears. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you like this, but I'm desperate!" At the right moment, I let out a barely controlled sob, and bury my face in my hands. Part one of our plan is complete.

"Karin-san, what's wrong?" Fukutan-sensei looks concerned. I feel bad tricking such a nice man like this, but I suppose it has to be done.

"The hair of her violin bow suddenly went missing." Hotaru explains quickly. "And she's going to have a recital very soon. She can't find another bow anywhere, so she desperately needs some hair to replace the missing ones."

"So…Fukutan-sensei…since your hair can grow really fast, we figured you could help us?" Mikan asks hopefully, giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Pl-please, Fukutan-sensei!" I sob, dropping to the ground. I bow down to him and lay my forehead down onto the ground. "Please! My recital is in fifteen minutes! I don't know what my master will do to me if I don't play today!"

"Please! Please help her! If you don't, God will be angry at you for not helping a person in need!" Mikan drops down next to me, and we both sit at Fukutan-sensei's feet, groveling. For extra emphasis on Mikan's words, I make a fireball appear by Fukutan-sensei's right side, although I'm careful to extinguish it quickly before it can spread. Hotaru stays upright, holding a pair of scissors behind her back.

My tears, my fire, and our groveling seem to have an effect on Fukutan-sensei. With tears of fright and sympathy, Fukutan-sensei says loudly, "All right! I'll give you a lock of my hair. But what will we cut it with?"

"I have some scissors right here." Hotaru comes forward, ready equipped. Fukutan-sensei slips off his hair ribbon, and closes his eyes.

"Eep." I squeak as I witness what happens next. Fukutan-sensei's hair floats up, and elongates itself at an astonishing speed.

"Stop!" Hotaru calls. "That's quite long enough!" She takes a lock of his hair, and snips it off his head.

"Oh my God, thank you so much Fukutan-sensei, you're such a lifesaver." I gush, as the three of us back out the door. "I'll definitely come back here and play my violin for you, using your hair in my bow!"

Crying tears of happiness now, Fukutan-sensei waves us off, yelling, "I look forward to it, Karin-san!"

As we close the door to the staff room, Mikan unleashes a torrent of questions onto me. "Are you really going to play the violin for him, Karin-senpai? Can you even play the violin? Is it even possible to use hair other than horse hair?"

"Yeah, I can play." I giggle. Then I answer all her other questions soberly. "Of course I will play for him. A promise is a promise. And as for the horse hair question, who knows?"

"NO!" A loud cry hurts my eardrums. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU FREAK!" Tsubasa skids around the corner, out of the door of the _girls' bathroom!_ He looks extremely bedraggled. He has- what, sparkles? Glitter?- in his hair, and he has the scent of roses about him. Yuu had used his Illusion Alice to pretend that the girls' bathroom was the boys' bathroom, and apparently when the boys walked into a room full of girls…chaos had begun. I so want to see it, and luckily, because of careful planning and Hotaru's camcorder, I'll be able to.

"Where are Natsume and Ruka-pyon?" Mikan asks.

"Right here." Ruka and Natsume appear behind Tsubasa, looking equally bedraggled. Natsume even has a dark red mark on his cheek that looks suspiciously like lipstick. And behind Natsume, being dragged along by the ear is…uh oh. Poor Yuu…he must've been caught by Natsume. Behind Yuu and Natsume is a rather crispy and burnt looking girl with a tube of sparkly lip gloss in her right hand and a bottle of perfume in her left. She takes a look at the boys, seems to have second thoughts, then leaves.

"Iinchou!" Mikan exclaims. She lunges toward Natsume. "Let Iinchou go!"

Natsume pulls Yuu away from her reaching hands. "You won this round." He admits, brushing off some glitter from his hair with his free hand. "But let's strike a new deal. I return this boy to you…if you agree to us working together and sharing the prize." He points to me. "You're going to let that girl go free anyway if you win, aren't you? So why don't we work together so we can both get what we want? You can have all the other items, and Ruka and I can keep this guy." Tsubasa gives us a pleading look. I feel rather sorry for him.

Staring carefully at Natsume with narrowed eyes of suspicion, Mikan backs up to consult with me and Hotaru. She never turns her back to Natsume, who's just standing there with an aloof expression. When she finally reaches us, she whispers, "Should we accept his offer?"

Hotaru thinks for a bit, and then nods her head. "I see profit in this venture. Less work for us to do if there are more people to share the burden."

"I personally have no problems with it." I say, shooting a rather guilty look at Tsubasa. "Feel free to collaborate with the guys."

Hotaru and I push Mikan forward. "Go tell them, Mikan-chan." I say encouragingly.

"Natsume!" Mikan says confidently. "We've talked it over. We've decided…we'll work together with you guys!"

"Fine." Natsume shrugs indifferently.

"Let's get going then." Ruka says with a smile. Whoa, wait a second? Ruka actually talked? Amazing!

"Let's go, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan cries happily, linking her arms through his arm and Hotaru's arm. Wow. I'm amazed once again. Do I see a hint of a blush on Ruka-pyon's face? First Natsume, now Ruka? Mikan's amazing and she doesn't even know it. I snicker inwardly.

A girl walks out of the girls' bathroom. She's a classic Asian girl, with black hair and dark eyes. She's wearing glasses, and she's taller than I am. She looks very familiar to me, almost like Agent 005 back at U.S Alice Academy…but I just can't place her, partially because I'm not wearing my glasses. Her face is rather blurred. She seems to take one piercing look at me through her glasses, and then hurries away quickly.

"Karin! Karin! PST!" Ooh! I hear my name! Where's it coming from? Mitsuki and Hana are walking down the hallway that me and the others are standing in.

"Excuse me. We need to borrow Karin for a couple of minutes." Hana says with a gentle, polite smile.

Shooting a questioning look at Mitsuki and Hana, I say to the kids, "I'll be right back."

"Hurry back, Karin-senpai!" Mikan calls, waving at me.

I follow Mitsuki and Hana out of the building and onto the school's large grassy grounds. "Where are we going, you guys?"

"The air has ears." Mitsuki answers shortly. I scowl at this statement. We continue walking down a nice path until we reach a cherry blossom tree. It's not spring yet, so no blossoms are in bloom…yet.

We stop at the roots of the tree. "Mitsuki, call him out." Hana instructs. "He seems to like you the best."

Mitsuki nods. "Mr. Turtle!" She calls. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

I tense up. Who the heck is Mr. Turtle? Suddenly, out of the roots of the tree, that _freaky_ turtle or laptop, or whatever it is comes crawling out! But, I proudly stand my ground, confident that I won't get squished by the thing again.

The turtle crawls steadily to Mitsuki's side. We all crouch around it, staring at it inquisitively. "Watch this. I waited until you guys were here to try this." Mitsuki says excitedly. She bends down close to the turtle's ear and says clearly, "Mr. Turtle, please call Joel and Kay over a private line. No spies or piggy backers."

The turtle says, "One moment please." A muted dial tone emits from it. Then…

"Finally! What took you guys so long?" Joel's oh-so-comforting voice speaks out of the turtle's mouth. A crash issues forth, then Kay's voice could be heard.

"Girls! Girls! Are you all right? We've been so worried!"

"We're fine." Hana says in a soothing voice.

"The laptop got thrown out. That's why the report was so late in coming." Mitsuki says bluntly.

"But, it was smart enough to come back to us!" I intervene hastily.

Kay sighs a breath of relief. "Well at least you're all right. I'm afraid we have some bad news here." We're all immediately serious.

"What happened?" I ask urgently.

Joel comes back into hearing. "Those _science geeks_ are trying to weasel in on our mission!"

"What science geeks?" Hana looks mystified.

"Phil and Lucia from the Technical Ability Class! Surely you haven't forgotten about them already!" I can picture Joel clearing his throat self-importantly. "They've always been jealous of us Specials."

"Oh, is that all?" Mitsuki says dryly. "That was the bad news?"

Phil and Lucia are the co-moderators of the Technical Class back at U.S Alice Academy. They are always bickering with Joel and Kay, who are the co-moderators of the Special Ability Class. The Technicals are apparently convinced that the Specials aren't serious enough, and the Specials think that if the Technicals could get any more serious than they already are, they'd be dead.

I sigh. "Is this really the time to be upset about another squabble with the Technicals and Specials?"

"Oh, it's much more serious than that, Agent 003. Phil and Lucia have already taken action."

"Don't stop there!" Mitsuki snaps. "What have they done?"

"They have already sent their agents over. Their three agents had infiltrated the Academy even before you guys arrived in Japan."

Hana, Mitsuki, and I sit around the turtle in silence, letting Joel's words sink in. Already infiltrated? How could that be?

I decide to voice one of my suspicions. "I thought I saw Agent 005 in the hallways today…"

"What?" Mitsuki and Hana exclaim.

"That was probably her." Kay's voice fills in calmly. "Phil and Lucia sent over Agents 004 and 006 as well."

Now it's my turn to be astonished. "What?" I screech. "Why would they send Agent 004 over here? Of all people! That guy's the laziest ass I ever saw!"

"I know he's lazy." Kay snaps. "But he has a higher IQ than you guys! And…he is pretty strong…"

"Darn it!" Mitsuki groans in a complaining tone, slapping the grass angrily. "This mission is already hard enough without competition! Why did Phil and Lucia even send other agents anyway?"

"Hey, you think I know?" Joel's voice contains a hint of helplessness. "We didn't even know what they did until today, when they announced it during our staff meeting!" Joel begins to rant. "And oh, did they have smirks on their faces too! Trying to prove that their Technical…ness is better than our Specialness!"

Joel's ranting voice fades away slowly, and then Kay takes the stage again. "Sorry bout that, girls." She says quietly, with the hint of a giggle. "You know how he gets…"

"Yeah." We all share a sigh.

"Well, what do we do now, Kay?" Hana asks quietly.

Kay pauses slightly before replying, "I don't know." Those dreaded words…"I suppose all we can do now is just keeping on gathering intelligence. We'll keep you posted on any new developments over here."

"So…" Kay seems to be fiddling with something. "Agent 003, want to send us the files now?" I take my glasses off and press a little button. A paper thin chip slides out from the knobs that balance the glasses on my nose.

"Um…where are the USB ports?" I give the turtle a look-over.

On the other end, Kay is rather silent. "Erm…sorry to break it to you, Agent 003, but those Technicals that made the laptop got a _little too creative_. The USB ports are located…erm…in the tail area."

Mitsuki's, Hana's and my gaze all shift down to the turtle's erecting tail. "No way." Mitsuki says strongly. "The _nether regions_?!"

I grimace. "Why me…" Scowling, I wrench the turtle's tail up. Seeming alarmed, the turtle cranes its head over to look at me, a startled expression on its turtle features.

"It's alright, Mr. Turtle." I mutter. "Just going to insert a couple of USBs." Mitsuki tries to reassure the turtle by patting its head. I gingerly insert my glasses' chip, then Mitsuki and Hana insert their own USBs in their turn. I instruct the turtle, "Mr. Turtle, download all files, video, audio, and photos. Encrypt them, and send them over a secure, firewalled, private connection."

"Processing." It says, blinking its eyes.

"Got the files." Kay informs us. "Well, until tomorrow then."

"Yes." Hana says quietly.

Kay's voice takes on a motherly tone again. "Do be careful girls."

"Of course we will!" I try to say cheerily. "Nothing can happen that we won't be prepared for!" After my statement, the turtle closes its mouth, says "Call ended", then is silent once more.

"Karin." Hana and Mitsuki look at me with smirks on their faces. "You're taking the USBs out."


	11. Trouble in the Greenhouse

"Karin-senpai!" I can hear Mikan's voice calling me.

"Sorry, guys. Gotta go." I say apologetically as I take the USBs gingerly out from Mr. Turtle's behind. "Apparently, I got looped into this scavenger hunt the elementary school kids are having." Once I finish the deed, Mr. Turtle slowly pads off into the underbrush in the forest. Hana waves good-bye to him as he leaves.

"Haha." Mitsuki laughs at me. "I think I was supposed to go with one of the groups too, but I escaped before they could figure out it was me." She takes out from her skirt pocket a white envelope identical to the one Narumi-sensei had given me earlier.

"Yeah, that's the clue they were supposed to find." I take the envelope from her and open it. It has exactly the same contents mine had. "I wonder which poor suckers you were assigned to."

"I didn't get one!" Hana pouts.

"Why don't you guys come with me?" I suggest. "We could use the help. It'll be fun!"

"I'll go!" Hana joyfully volunteers. "Scavenger hunts are pretty fun."

"How about you, Mitsuki?"

Mitsuki shrugs. "Sure. I'd rather go with you guys rather than some kids I don't know anyways." I grin happily. Honestly, I'd go anywhere as long as these two are with me always.

While we're walking to where Mikan and Natsume's groups are gathered, I see they're all huddled around something. I squeeze between Tsubasa and Yuu as I ask, "What's going on, guys?"

"Fashionably late, Karin? And you brought your friends with you." Tsubasa says with a smirk. As Mikan and the rest of the kids greet Mitsuki and Hana, his smirk becomes replaced with a worried expression. "We got the next clue." Tsubasa says seriously. "I think I know where to find this next item…"

Hotaru hands the paper the clue is written on to me. "All of a sudden, it dropped from the sky. We didn't even see the creature or thing that delivered it to us."

I read the clue out loud as Mitsuki and Hana follow along over my shoulder. "'I grow up to become something tasty on your dinner plate. However, I can also be quite a dangerous weapon. But when you pick me, make sure to pick five more of my buddies, so I don't get lonely!' What in the world is this? A cow?"

"I think it's a-" Tsubasa begins, until Natsume interrupts him by completing his sentence. "A bean whip."

"What's a bean whip? Is it what I think it is?" I ask confusedly while Tsubasa begins pouting and muttering under his breath, "Never let me have a cool moment…that boy…"

"A bean whip is basically a bean plant that can transform into a whip when needed." Yuu begins explaining. I nod my head to indicate that I'm listening, and even put on my glasses for good measure, turning on my video recording function surreptitiously. Yuu continues, "However, once it turns into a whip, it can't turn back into a bean. It was developed by Misaki-sensei, the biology teacher, with his Alice. His Alice allows him to grow plants that mutate and come to life, you know!"

"Wow…" Hana murmurs. "That's pretty cool."

I turn to Mitsuki and Hana and say excitedly, "Only two words are possible after hearing that. ZOMBIE PLANTS."

Hana slaps me playfully, scolding me lightly. "Be serious, Karin!"

"I'm always serious!" I retort, sticking my tongue out at her. I turn to the other kids. "So, where can we find these bean whips?"

"They're grown in the greenhouse that belongs to the Technical Class." Hotaru replies. "However, because Narumi-sensei always sneaks in to steal the bean whips, Misaki-sensei has installed some traps around the greenhouse."

"This is going to be tricky." Tsubasa sighs.

I grin at him. "Don't worry." I look around at each of the members of our group, hoping to install optimism in them. "I'm sure if we just work together, we'll be able to overcome all obstacles."

Mikan bawls, "Well said, Karin-senpai!"

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" I say, pumping my fist in the air.

Tsubasa hangs back, fretting nervously, "How about we just ditch the scavenger hunt and go to Central Town? I'll treat you all to Howalon!"

"Don't try to get out of this!" Natsume grabs Tsubasa by his shirt collar. Staring right into his eyes, Natsume says in a threatening tone, "We're going to win this thing, and then I'll make you my slave."

Tsubasa begins fake crying. "You're too scary for a kid, Natsume-sama!"

"Let's hurry up before another group beats us to the catch." Yuu begs.

"Anyone know the way to the greenhouse?" Mitsuki inquires.

Hotaru raises her hand. "I do." She says in her quiet, monotone voice. "But it's a bit far from here, so…" She takes a small remote from her skirt pocket and points it towards a clump of bushes in the distance. The bushes rustle a little, and out pops a small car designed to look like a giraffe. It even has a giraffe head, with brown spots painted on its main body. I gawk at the sheer cuteness of the machine.

"Is that…yours?" I struggle for words. Mitsuki and Hana also have expressions of awe on their faces, while everyone else seems accustomed to this occurrence.

"Hotaru-chan has the Invention Alice." Yuu informs me proudly while Hotaru begins leading the way to her giraffe car. "She's a genius at inventing things. She's already gotten sponsorship from several big companies!"

"Very impressive, Hotaru-chan." I say. She receives my compliment with a silent nod of her head. Once we reach her car, we start piling in. However, her car is pretty tiny, and while four elementary school students could fit snugly in one side, four high school students wouldn't fit, and didn't fit.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" Tsubasa asks indignantly.

"Well, Hana or Mitsuki, I guess one of you guys can sit on my lap to make some more room for him…" I say worriedly. We are making arrangements when Natsume stands up and closes the tiny car door. No way. He's not going to do what I think he's doi-

"There's not enough room in the car." He smirks devilishly. "So, you're going to have to RUN."

"Natsume-kun!" I protest, at the same time Mikan yells righteously, "You're so mean!" Mikan's intervention only causes Natsume's venomous look to increase in intensity towards Tsubasa.

In the end, poor Yuu pitifully volunteers to walk with Tsubasa to the greenhouse. Amidst Mikan's protests, Yuu manages to get in, "It's okay, Mikan-chan. Only Hotaru-chan and me know where the greenhouse is, so it makes more sense if I were to go with Tsubasa-senpai. We'll meet each other there." This Yuu kid is really so nice, I feel sorry for him. As Hotaru drives the giraffe car away, Mikan tearfully sobs, "See you later, Iinchou, Tsubasa-senpai!"

"You know what, I feel so sorry for them." I remark as the giraffe car drives speedily along the path that winds deeper into the forest. Mitsuki and Hana nod in agreement. "Isn't Yuu-kun the nicest kid we've ever met?" I look pointedly at Natsume.

"If you feel so sorry for them, why didn't you just join them?" Natsume growled at me. Smirking back at him, I choose not to answer; instead, I ruffle his messy hair endearingly until he pushes my hand away. He glares at me with such fire in his eyes, I'm quite sure he wants to burn me right then and there. He totally would have, if it weren't for the fact that he's pathetically outnumbered. Such a feisty boy! Hopefully he warms up to me in the future…

Soon, I can see a large building made entirely of glass in the distance, growing ever closer. Once Hotaru parks her car (now that I think about it, she knows how to drive at such a young age?), I can see the building much more clearly. This greenhouse is enormous, logically in order to house the many most-likely mobile plants within. It is shaped like a log house, except instead of a pointy, triangular roof, the top point is more rounded and domed, like an elongated Taj Mahal roof. Through the glass, I can see some dangerous-looking plants…with TEETH. "I got a bad feeling about this…" I murmur quietly to Mitsuki and Hana. "Anything that has teeth THAT sharp-looking can't be safe."

"Plants don't have teeth, Karin." Hana says patiently.

"Whatever, they look like teeth!" I insist. "Sharp, pointy, bloodthirsty TEETH!"

"Well, let's go in." Natsume says, ignoring everything I was saying. Mikan is slightly trembling and looks as if she might cry. Natsume allows himself a little condescending smile. "You scared, Polka Dots?" I share a smile of amusement with Mitsuki and Hana at the pair's little moment.

"Don't call me that!" Mikan cries. "And no, I'm NOT scared!" Fuming, she stomps first into the greenhouse.

"Be careful, Sakura!" Ruka, whose voice I've barely heard, says worriedly. He runs after her, and Natsume follows at a more moderate pace. Hotaru walks immediately after them, snapping pictures with her camera.

I elbow Hana and Mitsuki and whisper, "Hey, think there's a love triangle going on here?"

"Yes." Tsubasa weasels his way into our group. He and Yuu had caught up to us. "You want to join the 'Watching over Ruka' group?" He looks proudly into the distance, showing his profile off to us. "Our mission- to foster Ruka-pyon's love for Mikan-chan. We encourage him when things get tough, and rejoice with him when things go well. It's an extremely rewarding activity. You feel good inside."

"Get out of here!" I laugh as I slap his arm. Tsubasa chuckles haltingly, and then turns away to rub his arm vigorously. "I'm rooting for Natsume-kun."

"Senpai." Yuu tugs on my shirtsleeve. I turn to look down at the adorable kid. "Where are Mikan-chan and the others?"

"They just went inside the greenhouse." Hana replies, looking into the direction of the greenhouse.

"Let's hurry, senpai!" Yuu urges. "Remember what Hotaru-chan said? Because Narumi-sensei always sneaks in to steal bean whips, Misaki-sensei has installed traps inside the greenhouse."

"We should've stuck close to the kids." I say worriedly. "They might get in trouble."

We run towards the greenhouse. As soon as we open the door to the greenhouse, we are immediately hit with a series of high-pitched screams. "Oh my goodness, is that Mikan?" Mitsuki gasps. We rush towards the direction of the screams.

Holy mother of PEARL. This is like a scene straight out of one of those freaky mutant movies Joel always dragged me out to see. It's the invasion of alien plant life forms! Natsume, Ruka, and Mikan are suspended in the air, with large green plant tentacles wrapped around their waists. These plant tentacles appear to be spiky, with white spots, branching out from a main body. Mikan is screaming her head off, while Ruka is frozen stiff with fear. His poor little bunny rabbit is hanging on for dear life, tears rolling down its cheeks. Natsume however, doesn't look so good. He's sweating profusely, and looks like he'll actually throw his cookies soon. I wonder why he isn't using his Alice to free himself and his friends.

"What in the world is that?" Tsubasa gapes.

"It looks like…aloe vera." Mitsuki wrinkles her nose. She doesn't like aloe vera. Never has, and probably never will.

Hana says nervously, "That aloe vera doesn't look particularly soothing."

"Mikan-chan!" I cautiously walk closer to the sea anemone-like plant. "Stop screaming!"

"Karin-senpai!" Mikan screamed. "Save us!"

"Calm down!" I survey the plant more carefully. It doesn't appear to be vicious. It's just holding the kids and swaying back and forth. "I can't burn the plant." I say with frustration. "It's too tall, and the kids could get hurt falling from that height. The tentacles don't sway any lower than that."

"I can't freeze it either." Mitsuki says matter-of-factly. "I'll just end up breaking the plant leaves."

"Maybe we can climb the aloe and carry them down?" Yuu suggests.

Mitsuki frowns. "It keeps on moving so it'll be really hard to climb, although I suppose the spikes can function as handholds?"

"I can stop the tree's movement without breaking it." Tsubasa grins. He walks around the plant carefully and stops when he is standing on the aloe vera's shadow. He takes a pencil out from his pocket and writes something on the ground covered by the shadow. The aloe vera immediately stops moving and freezes in one pose. My mouth drops open.

"What did you do?" I ask in astonishment.

"My Alice is shadow manipulation." Tsubasa winks at me. "I can control any shadow just by touching it. Pretty cool, huh?"

I really am impressed. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone with an Alice like that. "What did you do with your pencil though?" Mitsuki, ever the observant one, asks.

"I just wrote down instructions on the shadow telling it not to move until fifteen minutes have passed." Tsubasa shrugs. "Another little thing I discovered I could do with my Alice. Now we can climb up the plant and get the kids down."

"Yuu-kun, stay here." I instruct him as I start the perhaps treacherous climb up the gigantic aloe vera. Once Mikan had seen our rescue attempt beginning, she had ceased screaming and instead hung there silently, her soul leaking out from her mouth. Ruka had begun soothing his frightened pet rabbit, probably to quell his own fears as well. He was also shooting worried looks over at Natsume, who doesn't even look like he's conscious anymore. Ruka isn't the only one worried about Natsume though.

"Tsubasa, you carry Ruka down. Hana, you can handle Mikan, right? Mitsuki, help me get Natsume down. It doesn't look like he can move on his own." I issue orders authoritatively.

To my surprise, Ruka starts speaking up. "Natsume tried to use his Alice to help us escape earlier. But he's been using his Alice more than usual lately, and he just got released from the hospital. I think he's overworked himself too much, and his body just couldn't handle it anymore."

"He has a life-shortening Alice?" I gasp, looking over at Mitsuki and Hana. They both have expressions of horror on their faces. I have a bad feeling about what Natsume's been using his Alice for. Or more like, what he's been FORCED to use his Alice for. Looking at the poor boy, I feel a surge of sympathy for him. Mitsuki and I shimmy quickly up the tree, me silently praying no one can see up our skirts. We pry the plant's tentacle away from Natsume's waist and Mitsuki helps me load the unconscious boy onto my back. Luckily for me, Natsume is really light and skinny, although whether that is a good thing or a bad thing I have yet to determine.

Once we hit the ground, I suddenly remember something. "Where's Hotaru-chan?" I scan the surrounding area for a glimpse of her purplish-blackish hair.

"I haven't seen Imai since we got caught by the plant." Ruka says, his face beginning to show signs of worry. Mikan, who had been hugging Tsubasa relentlessly once Hana finished rescuing her, perks up, pigtails swinging with the force of her movement.

"Oh no! What if something happened to Hotaru?" She cries, her face aghast. "We have to save her!" She starts running away AGAIN.

"Stop her, Mitsuki!" I cry. Mitsuki thankfully obliges, grabbing Mikan by the back of her collar. "Stop running around, Mikan-chan." I say, trying to make my voice sound gentle even though I am secretly wanting to tie her up and just drag her along. "What if you get caught in a trap again? Then we'd have to save you AGAIN, which would take away our time otherwise better spent in rescuing Hotaru-chan and obtaining the bean whips. The best thing to do now is to stick close to your senpai, okay?"

Sniffling, Mikan nods her head in agreement meekly. "Yes, Karin-senpai."

"Not that I don't think this scene is touching and all," Tsubasa comes forward, shooting nervous looks backward at the plant. "But I believe our time limit IS fifteen minutes. Unless you want this aloe vera to start snatching up victims again, I highly suggest we skedaddle!"

"Let's run!" Hana moves ahead. "I'll be scout."

"I'll guard the rear." Mitsuki says, moving into our formation. Usually, I'm the rear guard, but seeing as I'm handicapped with a sack of fire-expelling potatoes, I'm thankful for Mitsuki's apparent ability to read my mind.

"I wonder what Misaki-sensei's going to throw at us next." I mutter angrily.

"Technically, all these traps Misaki-sensei set up were meant for Narumi-sensei." Mitsuki, always the downer on my parade, says matter-of-factly.

"I know that…" I roll my eyes as I heft Natsume's still body back up from where he was starting to slip down.

"Guys!" Hana returns from her scouting mission.

"Anything dangerous up ahead?" Tsubasa asks.

"I wouldn't say dangerous…" Hana appears to be thinking of a way to describe what she has observed. "It's more…annoying?"

"Annoying?" Mitsuki asks with a blank expression.

Hana shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts. "You'll hear it soon enough. We're almost there."

As we progress further into the greenhouse, a chorus of high-pitched voices begins to increase in volume, like someone was slowly turning up the volume knob on a stereo.

"What in the world are they saying?" I ask the rest of the group. "And what's making the sound?" Most of them shake their head except for Yuu.

"It sounds like they're saying, 'Don't eat me!'" Yuu says, face starting to turn pale. The poor kid is trembling so hard his knees are knocking together. Hana pats his head comfortingly and pulls him close in an embrace. He gladly welcomes the warmth and latches on to her shirt. Hana then says, "I didn't go further to see what was making the sound because it isn't wise to go anywhere without backup."

"You're right though." Mitsuki remarks. "That sound is so high-pitched, it makes me want to strangle something."

"Ugh. What is that sound?" Natsume stirs.

"Had a nice nap, Sleeping Beauty?" I ask sarcastically. He jerks as he realizes that I'm piggybacking him, and starts his jump off my back by kicking against me HARD, landing a safe distance away. In order to save myself from faceplanting the ground, I tuck myself into a ball and roll away. "Freaking Natsume!" I yell once I've regained my footing. "That hurt!" My anger at him quickly dissipates when I see him lurch, losing his balance slightly. Ruka quickly steps in to support him, looking more worried than ever.

"I'm all right, Ruka." Natsume grunts, quite obviously trying to look tough to reassure his friend. I have to give it to the boy, even when he can't walk without support, he can still manage to give off an aura of superiority and confidence. "So what's happened?" He asks, looking around at our group. "Where's Imai?"

"Hotaru's disappeared!" Mikan wails. Great, thanks a lot for reminding her, Natsume. The now-sobbing Mikan cries, "She didn't get captured by the monster plant, but she could've been captured by who-knows-what instead! She could be being digested by some Venus flytrap's digestive juices right now, or maybe even buried alive by some fat bushes!" Hana sighs as she moves over to Mikan and pats her head too.

"Shut up, Polka Dots." Natsume says, a frown on his face. "I'm trying to listen to those weird sounds." As we continue walking down our path, we see the source of the sounds.

My jaw drops down in possibly the hundredth time today. The sight I see scares me a little, but mostly I am in awe and very, very relieved. I see Hotaru sitting on one uprooted, wriggling apple tree that is bound by a strangely strong-looking rope, crunching heartily on an apple that is screaming its dying cries, "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" Other fruit trees, all bound by the same rope, and all having screaming fruit in their branches surround her.

"Hotaru!" Mikan runs toward the person of her affections. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be okay, dummy?" Hotaru shoots Mikan with her baka gun. Oh yes. Completely normal.

"Why weren't you with the rest of the group, Hotaru-chan?" I ask her.

"That humongous plant picked me up." Hotaru begins. "But instead of hanging me up like it did to this idiot," she points at Mikan here, "it tossed me instead. Luckily, I had my parachute with me, so I landed in this grove of fruit trees. They started swarming me, but it was nothing I couldn't handle."

"Dang, Hotaru-chan!" Tsubasa ventures closer to the amazing scene before us. "Did you take out all of them yourself?" He squats down next to a desperately wiggling peach tree and pokes at the binding. "What is this thing? One of your inventions?"

"Invention number fifty-one." Hotaru says quietly. "Strong binding rope. Used to tie things up. Can also be used to tie things together. Can be used manually, or be shot out of a gun. Like so." She puts a small packet of her special rope in her baka gun and shoots a small baby persimmon tree that was trying to surprise-attack Mikan. In a blink of an eye, the baby tree is subdued and struggles to release itself from its bondage on the ground. Hotaru continues without a bat of her eyelashes. "Virtually indestructible. Also comes in pink, blue, and zebra stripes."

"Well, now that we've found Imai," Natsume says. "let's hurry up and find the bean whips."

We hurried past all the trees that Hotaru had captured with her ropes and just continued down this endless-seeming greenhouse. I swear, this place is too huge and has too many strange plants. I don't even know what a bean whip looks like. Is it shaped like a regular bean? Is it green?

"You guys know what a bean whip looks like, right?" I ask nervously. "Cause I kind of assumed you guys did before we started the search…"

Everyone stops in their tracks. "Um…" Tsubasa stammers. "Hotaru-chan and Iinchou know, right? Natsume, Narumi-sensei's hit you with it before, right? So you guys know what it looks like?"

"No, I don't know what it looks like." Hotaru says straightforwardly.

Yuu blushes beet red and murmurs quietly, "I never got around to finishing that book about them…"

Natsume is quiet for a couple of seconds before saying "I've only seen them in whip form."

"But they wouldn't be in whip form until activated, would they?" Mikan says accusingly. "They'd be beans still!"

"Great." Mitsuki looks up at the sky for divine guidance. "We're on a wild goose chase!"

"NARUMI!" A loud masculine yell makes us all jump. "NARUMI, YOU GET AWAY FROM THOSE BEAN WHIPS!" Misaki-sensei's handsome face pops out from some nearby bushes. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD Y-oh." He stops in mid-yell when he sees us. "What are you kids doing here? Don't tell me you were the ones that tied up all the trees?"

We all point at Hotaru, who says in her quiet voice, "Good morning, Misaki-sensei."

"Imai." Misaki-sensei emerges from the bushes to stand next to her. "What's going on? Weren't you kids busy with the scavenger hunt?" He stands comfortably, with one hand on his hip and the other scratching his head. "I suspected Narumi to be here, distracting attention from himself by this random scavenger hunt so he can come here and steal some bean whips." He walks back to the bushes he had just walked out from. "I specially cultivated these bean whips for the Somatic Class to use for show when they perform with the Barnum and Bailey's Circus, but Narumi keeps on stealing them for his own selfish uses. I swear, I will catch that man someday and stop his mischievous…"

I stop listening to Misaki-sensei's tirade. He's normally a quiet man, but he talks a bit too much when the topic is either Narumi-sensei or his beloved plants. Now, he's talking twice as much as usual, since the current topic is BOTH Narumi-sensei AND his plants. Apparently I'm not the only one thinking the same thing because I can start seeing everyone's eyes begin to glaze over with boredom. I start paying attention again when Misaki-sensei says, "…these bushes are where my prized legumes grow, but because of Narumi's tomfoolery, my poor bushes are suffering…"

My eyes immediately shift to everyone else's. We begin inching closer together. I point with my thumb surreptitiously at Misaki-sensei, who is still obliviously talking. "The final boss." I mouth, my eyes glinting. Everyone else nods in agreement, their eyes shining with similar glints. I take the baka gun from Hotaru. "Get ready." I whisper, winking with a small smile. Then, I take careful aim.

"…these beans are really amazing, they somehow can detect your thoughts when you want it to turn into a whip, but sadly, they can't regain their original bean shape after they stretch into a whip, I'm working on a way to return them to their cute-OOMPH!"

I'm amazed at the speed Hotaru's baka gun can shoot out the rope, because in a blink of an eye, Misaki-sensei is bound up by a zebra-striped rope and is lying on the ground, stunned by what had just happened. "What happened?" He calls out to us.

Mikan kneels down next to him and prostrates herself on the ground. I hurry up to do the same. Together we say fervently as we bow, "We're so sorry, Misaki-sensei!"

"We need to get six bean whips for our scavenger hunt." I say apologetically as the others scramble to pick the beans from the bushes. "I'm so sorry we had to resort to this, Sensei. We love you!"

"Got them!" Mitsuki says triumphantly, holding a bean up for me to see. "Are we done?"

"Hopefully." I reply, grinning at her. "Let's get out of here before Misaki-sensei finds a way to escape from the rope."

We run out of the greenhouse as quickly as we can, hoping that no strange plants will harass us anymore. Misaki-sensei is awesome and all, but moving plants just isn't my thing. Once we're standing safely outside the greenhouse, Mikan laughs as she jumps and pumps one fist in the air. "Yay! I think we're finished! Let's hurry up and go find Narumi-sensei!"

"Nooo!" Tsubasa laments. Both Natsume and Ruka have him restrained by the arms. "Goodbye, my wonderful free-OOMPH!"

A piece of tightly folded paper ricochets off his head, effectively knocking Tsubasa to the ground. "OW!" He whines, clutching the point of contact. "What was that?"

Natsume conceals his mouth twitching with amusement by stooping down to pick up the flying projectile. He unfolds it, and as he reads the words on the paper, all amusement fades out of his eyes. "It's our next clue." He says forebodingly.

When will this scavenger hunt end?


	12. Breezy Hunt

"Well, don't just stand there." I say impatiently. "Read us the next clue!"

"It says, 'Used in a forest to cut down trees for fire and warmth. Wielded by a stuffed animal that likes to box.'" Natsume reads shortly.

"Mr. Bear!" Mikan cries excitedly. "My arch nemesis." In a flash, her bright face becomes dark, like a light had just been switched off.

Whoa there. "What's the history behind this?" I haltingly point at Mikan's 180-degree personality change.

Yuu says with a nervous grin on his face, "For reasons currently unknown, there is a stuffed animal living in the forest that really enjoys beating Mikan up."

"It's really quite enjoyable to watch." Hotaru says with a straight face.

"Um, stuffed animals don't usually…move." Mitsuki says bluntly.

"Mr. Bear was made by my best friend." Tsubasa says, smiling sadly. It seems out of the norm for him; there must be something wrong. I know that normal people usually smile when talking about their best friend. "He has the Alice of putting souls into stuffed animals, allowing them to come to life."

"That's right, Kaname-senpai!" Mikan says cheerfully. "We haven't seen him in a long time!"

"Kaname?" I look over at Mitsuki and Hana. "Is there anyone named Kaname in our class?" Mitsuki looks at Hana with a questioning look, and Hana shrugs.

"He's in our class." Tsubasa explains. "He just hasn't come to class because of his health." Tsubasa averts eye contact and looks down at the ground. "He had poor health originally, and whenever he uses his Alice, he just gets worse. But even though I tell him not to use it, he still insists on creating more stuffed animals for other people." Seeing Tsubasa look so sad makes my throat begin hurting. I would feel horrible too if Hana or Mitsuki were sick and in the hospital all the time. So horrible and helpless.

I change the subject quickly. "So, you guys know for sure where Mr. Bear is, right? Does Mr. Bear have an axe or something? That's the only thing I can think of that can cut down trees solo."

"Yeah. Every one knows where Mr. Bear lives." Yuu smiles. The smile slowly vanishes as he seems to remember something. "But Mr. Bear isn't exactly the most friendly stuffed animal…it may be a little difficult to get his cooperation."

"Don't worry, guys." Mikan says as she slams her right fist into her left palm menacingly. "I'll handle this. You can depend on me." Throwing one arm in the air triumphantly, she declares, "Today is the day Mr. Bear is GOING DOWN!" With that last statement, she starts running at full speed towards the forest.

"Let's follow her!" Hotaru runs back to her giraffe car and starts revving up the engine. All of us quickly jump back into the car, and Tsubasa manages to squeeze in next to Ruka this time, due to Mikan's absence.

"Can Mikan really do this?" Mitsuki asks all of us. Natsume shrugs while Ruka merely looks worried. Tsubasa has a small grin on his face as he's probably remembering previous encounters between Mikan and Mr. Bear.

"I highly doubt she can." Hotaru replies shortly as she maneuvers her giraffe car skillfully along a curve in the forest path, "She's never won against Mr. Bear before."

"Well, we'll see if Mikan can win this time." Tsubasa says, trying to hide his obvious grin behind his hand. "If it's hopeless, then I'll step in and negotiate with Mr. Bear."

"We're here!" Yuu is the first one out of the car. "Mikan-chan!" He runs towards her. Standing about six meters away from Mikan is a little stuffed bear, chopping firewood with an axe. It's kind of…cute. However, it seems to notice my observing stare, and I swear I see its eyes glint dangerously at me. This only serves to reaffirm my belief that there's always more than meets the eye.

Mikan does some warm-ups, reaching for her toes and stretching out her back. Yuu holds a towel and a water bottle taken from where? I know not. Hotaru whips out a microphone, hooks it up to a speaker (Once again, I don't know where these items have come from…), and begins her sound check. "Testing, one, two, three, a,i,u,e,o…" Her cute little voice booms out from the speaker at five times her normal volume. "Welcome everyone." She says, not sounding welcoming at all. "Today in the left corner of the arena, we have Sakura Mikan!"

Mikan stands up proudly, puffing her chest out, waving her hands in the air with a humongous grin splitting her face. Tsubasa and Yuu cheer heartily for her. Shrugging, I hop on the bandwagon and start clapping, shaking my head in exasperation. Mitsuki and Hana follow suit, although Hana giggles at the incredulousness of the situation. Natsume and Ruka are just staring unabashedly, with expressions saying, "So they really are crazies…"

Hotaru continues with her introductions. "And here in the right corner of the area, we have the crowd favorite, Mr. Bear!" To Mikan's surprise, Natsume, and thus Ruka as well, start applauding.

"Excuse me?" Mikan shrieks. Natsume sticks his tongue out at her. I stifle a giggle, sneaking a glance at Mitsuki and Hana. Mitsuki has a smirk on her face, while Hana rolls her eyes.

"Let's get ready to rumble." Hotaru declares monotonously. I have to fight my desire to laugh out loud. Goodness gracious, her voice and her words are totally at odds with each other!

A bell rings out of nowhere, and Mikan, clad in boxing gloves, begins her first attack. "YAH!" She screams her battle cry as she lunges forward.

"Mikan makes a daring strike." Hotaru narrates as Mikan aims a powerful-looking fist at Mr. Bear's cute head. "But, ooh! Denied." Mr. Bear dodges her fist nimbly and takes advantage of her unguarded face. BAM! Mikan takes one to the face, being knocked back into Mr. Bear's garden.

"Mikan-chan!" Yuu screams, running towards her. Mikan spits a pebble out of her mouth before taking a swig from the water bottle Yuu held out to her. Yuu dabs at the sweat on her face worriedly, acting more and more like a typical girl by the second.

"Challenger Mikan is knocked out of the ring. Will she return, or has Mr. Bear won this round?" Hotaru queries us. The last question earns her a squeal of indignation from Mikan.

She spunkily stands up, traces of any injury disappeared. "Sakura Mikan does not give up!" She declares proudly. She bounces back into the arena and surprise-attacks Mr. Bear with a snarl of "Hidden Citrus Kick!" Mr. Bear, being much smaller and lighter than a human girl, seems to suffer greatly, getting the stuffing kicked out of him. Launched into the air by Mikan's kick, Mr. Bear lands in front of Hana, Mitsuki, and me. As the small bear recovers his bearings and picks himself up, he shoots a murderous glare at us. I shiver with fear at the thought of that bear's powerful punches landing on my person. Mikan is so brave…

"Mikan…" I stutter. "I think you made Mr. Bear angry…" The ragged bear springs surprisingly high, landing on Mikan's head. Further scuffle ensues, with neither side appearing to give way.

Tsubasa, who had been standing next to me, sighs, takes off his beanie, and runs his hand through his hair. "Looks like I have to step in now."

I frantically grab his arm. "Are you sure, Tsubasa?" I ask him, feeling immensely worried after seeing Mr. Bear's boxing abilities. "Mr. Bear looks like he could beat Mohammed Ali!"

As Tsubasa takes my hand off his arm, he says with a mischievous grin on his face, "Don't worry, Rin-rin. Mr. Bear won't hurt me."

My jaw drops open. "What the HELL did you just call me?"

Tsubasa laughs at my reaction as he walks toward the center of carnage. "Mr. Bear," he calls. Mr. Bear turns his head slowly, eyes glinting in recognition when he spots Tsubasa. I cross my fingers behind my back and bite my lip nervously. Dude, if Tsubasa dies, I don't know how to deliver the news to the then newly-widowed Misaki. Mr. Bear runs into his log cabin and emerges with a bouquet of flowers.

"Think those flowers are poisonous?" Mitsuki whispers.

"Tsubasa-san!" Hana cries in worry, hand covering her mouth.

But, Tsubasa smiles sadly and kneels in front of the bear. "Are those flowers for Kaname again?" Mr. Bear nods, and hands the flowers to Tsubasa. Tsubasa turns and beckons for us to come closer. We cautiously walk towards the tiny bear of terror. He's surprisingly tame now, showing no violent tendencies towards us. Instead, he looks rather suspicious of us, and seems to be asking Tsubasa for an explanation in his quiet way.

"They're new classmates of mine." Tsubasa introduces us. "They're Kaname's classmates too." Upon hearing Kaname's name, Mr. Bear seems to stop being hostile and appears to tolerate our presence.

"I don't think he likes us very much." Hana whispers to Tsubasa.

"Don't worry; he doesn't like anyone much." Tsubasa grins. "The only person he loves is Kaname. He only tolerates me because he knows I'm Kaname's best friend." Mr. Bear had walked back inside his house and came out again with a large round table. He continues this process until he has four chairs set up around the table. He gestures for us to sit down.

"What about the kids?" I ask as I take a seat.

"Oh, we can ignore Natsume-kun." Tsubasa smirks. "He can STAND." I smother a laugh at Tsubasa's childish revenge. Natsume glowers, and looks as if he's going to roast Tsubasa's sorry ass, but seems to reschedule the barbeque for later when Mr. Bear returns from yet another trip to his house. This time, he returns with a large tray saddled with a nice, piping hot teapot with four little elegant teacups complete with saucers. Mr. Bear gives these to Tsubasa, who distributes it around to all of us. Mr. Bear even returns into the house to get more teacups for Natsume, Ruka, and Hotaru as well. This bear is really quite kind when it comes to his creator.

"Is Mikan alright, Yuu-kun?" I call over to him, suddenly remembering her.

Yuu answers me with tears in his eyes. "I d-don't know. She's not getting up from the ground."

Slightly concerned, I set my teacup down on the table and walk quickly over to where Mikan lies. Seeing her face, I smile wryly. "I wouldn't worry too much, Yuu-kun."

Mitsuki and Tsubasa had followed me over. "It looks like she's just sulking." Mitsuki points out bluntly. "She lost the fight after all. Tsubasa had to intervene." Tsubasa grins sheepishly, stuffing his beanie into his pant pocket.

"Hey, Mikan-chan." I try to strike up a conversation with her. "Want some tea that Mr. Bear's made for us?" Tsubasa runs as fast as the wind back to the tea table and returns with a steaming hot cup of tea. He looks crestfallen as Mikan shakes her head. I'm shaking with suppressed laughter at his sad puppy dog look, but I continue my pleading.

"How about a cookie? Aren't you hungry?" Tsubasa runs back again to the table and returns with the entire platter of tea biscuits Mr. Bear had brought out. Mikan shakes her head no again. "How about some fruit?" Tsubasa begins to climb a tree. Mitsuki is also desperately trying to hold her mirth in, hands clapped over her mouth. She totally knows what I'm up to now. "Or maybe you're in the mood for some hot roasted BEAR?" Tsubasa runs and picks up Mr. Bear, but gets socked in the face almost immediately. My stomach is hurting from holding back my peals of laughter. Finally, I can't stand it anymore, and just collapse on my knees, slapping the ground with my hand. I'm laughing so hard tears are beading up in the corners of my eyes.

Mikan sits up slowly, watching us with slight interest. However, there is still a disappointed expression on her usually smiling face. "I'm so useless." She starts, making us all stop laughing and Tsubasa stop tussling with Mr. Bear. "I couldn't defeat Mr. Bear even once." She mutters.

I ruffle her bangs affectionately. "Don't think so much about it, Mikan-chan." She looks up at me with some confusion in her eyes. "You're not useless." I continue, smiling at her with all I've got. "There are certain things that certain people can do. You just haven't found what special thing YOU can do yet. Besides," I surprise Mikan by lifting her light body up in the air, "as long as we work together, we can do anything."

Mikan laughs joyfully and urges, "Spin, Karin-senpai!" Seeing that contagious smile on her face makes me happy too, so I twirl us around together to the tea table, followed by Tsubasa, Mitsuki, and Yuu, who are smiling at the happy scene.

"Oh great. Another weirdo." I hear Natsume mutter under his breath. After I put Mikan down, I slap Natsume's head.

"Unfortunately for you," I say loftily as he holds his head in pain, "I possess extremely good hearing. You're getting another one of those if you insult me again."

"You're so macho, Rin-rin." Tsubasa grins, insulting me in a tone of adulation. Shivers of disgust ripple through my body as I slap Tsubasa's head too.

"What I said to Natsume applies to you too!" I shudder. "And stop calling me that name. So disgusting."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Bear." Tsubasa says, ignoring my command and insult. "We never told you what we came to visit for." Mr. Bear cocks his head questionably at Tsubasa. "We're on a scavenger hunt, and your axe is on the list of items to find." Tsubasa explains. "So we came to ask if you would possibly give your axe to us." He suddenly remembers something, and shoots a nervous look at Natsume. "I mean, it'd be totally cool if you didn't, in fact, I would prefer if…" His voice trails off sadly as Mr. Bear hands him an axe. He blinks dumbly as he stares at the sharp object in his hand.

"Oh no, Mr. Bear, I couldn't possibly accept this!" Tsubasa stammers. The rest of us just watch him slowly dig himself his own grave. "I mean, how could I possibly take the only way to obtain your source of warmth! It must get really cold at night for…stuffed…animals…" He trails off, probably realizing how stupid he's sounding right now.

"Tsubasa." I sigh, clapping my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Smarts aren't everything in this world." Natsume snatches the axe away from Tsubasa's frozen hand. "Better salvage yourself while you can." I mutter to him before moving away.

Tsubasa's head snaps up, and turns immediately to Natsume, who's examining the axe with Ruka. "Natsume!" He calls, a smirk starting to form on his face. "The breeze is quite refreshing today, isn't it?"

"What the heck is this idiot talking about?" Natsume asks Ruka, an I-don't-care-look on his face.

"What I mean is, wearing a skirt must be very refreshing, as you can feel the breeze _everywhere_, if you know what I mean." Tsubasa says with a cheeky wink.

I can immediately feel the temperature go up a couple of degrees. Natsume's glare is so filthy dark; Mikan and Yuu immediately latch on to my arms and don't show any signs of letting go soon. Ruka even slowly inches away from the soon-to-be crossfire. I'm praying Tsubasa knows what he's doing, because the only thing I foresee in the future if this continues is a large bonfire.

"And also," Tsubasa continues as if nothing had happened at all, inching closer and closer to Natsume's hand that is holding the axe, "you look better in a skirt than I would have expected. Who would've known that the infamous Hyuuga Natsume has such amazingly _GIRLY, SHAPELY_ legs?"

"Hotaru-chan, do you have any marshmallows?" I turn my head towards her. I am now ONE HUNDRED percent certain that we're going to have a bonfire tonight. What a horribly idiotic way to distract Natsume. Even though I haven't been here for a long time, I can tell that Natsume has a really fiery temper and has basically no tolerance for insults to his person. "Anyone here opposed to making s'mores after Tsubasa perishes in battle?" Everyone is too absorbed in watching the battle between Tsubasa and Natsume to really pay attention to my half-hearted jokes.

"You…pervert…" Natsume seethes, a fireball starting to form in his right palm. Tsubasa frantically looks around for a shadow to control, but since the sun is high in the sky, the only shadows are pathetically small, and right under everyone's feet. Not the best time to pick a fight with Natsume in my opinion. Tsubasa turns to run for cover in the shade of the nearby forest, but is stopped by Natsume, who has jumped onto his back and wrestled him to the ground.

"Revenge…" Natsume whispers, and then proceeds to…OH MY GOOD LORD!

"My eyes! It BURNS!" I screech, sounding like a cat about to be given a bath. "Avert your eyes, children!" I cover Mikan's and Yuu's eyes with my hands. Mitsuki and Hana are roaring with laughter. Mitsuki is repeatedly yelling, "EWWWWW!" while Hana is just helplessly bent over laughing. Hotaru is covering her mouth with her hand and trying to stop the shaking of her shoulders while taking pictures of the scene continuously with a camera she seemed to always have handy.

Natsume has PANTSED Tsubasa. Yes, I'm not kidding. As fast as a small ember can escalate into a large flame, Natsume had pulled Tsubasa's pants down, whipped Tsubasa's belt out of the loopholes, and tied his hands to his feet using the belt, making Tsubasa look very similar to a pig about to be roasted on a spit in a fireplace. Tsubasa is now thrashing around on the ground like a fish out of water, his bottom half clad only in a pair of very worn-looking boxers. Upon closer inspection, his boxers have all the Sailor Soldiers embroidered on the cloth in their respective colors. I don't know what's creepier; seeing Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars on opposing sides of Tsubasa's butt cheeks, or finding out that Tsubasa is a secret otaku.

I let go of Mikan and Yuu, deciding that the sight Tsubasa made wasn't appallingly inappropriate. Once they see him, their jaws hang open. "Tsubasa-senpai…" Mikan whispers with horror.

Natsume turns around to face us, looking very pleased with himself. "Let's get all these stuff back to that perverted teacher." He says, heading back to where Hotaru's giraffe car is hidden.

"Yes sir." I gulp nervously, sneaking a look back at Tsubasa. Hotaru takes a couple of last-minute pictures, then starts walking quickly back to her car.

"What'll we do with the captured victim, sir?" Mikan asks fearfully, raptly standing at attention, self-preservation in mind.

"We'll take him back with us." Natsume says shortly.

"Yes sir! Any other orders, sir?"

"Don't call me 'sir'."

"Yes si-! I mean, Natsume." Mikan smiles sheepishly. Natsume turns away abruptly, and mutters lowly, "Idiot…" I stifle my gasp. Is that a smile I see on Natsume's face?

"Can we untie him now?" Mitsuki asks, feeling no intimidation at all. "There's not going to be enough room in the car for him to ride, and I would expect you want to make him walk back again."

Natsume ponders this a bit, and then nods his agreement. He holds up a hand for us to wait. We stop in our tracks, wondering what he's going to do. Looking straight into Tsubasa's eyes, Natsume smirks and says coolly while holding Tsubasa's pants up, "You're not getting these back until we get back to the school." Looking back at Mitsuki, Hana, and me, he commands, "Release him."

As I undo the belt restraining his hands and feet, I hiss at him, "You. Are. Such. An. IDIOT!" He bursts free and starts rubbing his chafed wrists and ankles frantically. With that wounded, puppy-dog face, he looks at me resentfully.

"How can you abuse an injured person, _with no pants on?_" He howls, nursing his injuries.

I groan as I help him stand up. "How can a _person with no pants on_ still have so much self-confidence?" I shrug off my blazer and hand it to him, trying to control my voice and my face. "Here." He looks at me questioningly. "Haha-um, use this to cover up-snort, hehe, because seeing Sailor HAHA!-um, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars really makes me…BWAHAHAHAHA!" I start laughing so hard tears pour from my eyes as Tsubasa scowls, grabs the blazer from my hand and wraps it hurriedly around his waist.

"If you'll excuse me!" He says loftily to my laughing form, trying to preserve what little dignity he had left, "I'll get a head start back."

Wiping tears from my eyes, I call to his retreating figure, "Travel-HAHAHA! SAFELY!"

Once we've all finished our laughs, we pile back onto Hotaru's giraffe car and head back to the elementary school campus. Tsubasa seems to have thoroughly given up on obtaining his freedom, because we encountered no traps on the way back. I was personally expecting more attempts to sabotage the scavenger hunt, but I suppose losing one's pants really does make one's self-confidence wither like a rose in winter. Tsubasa is waiting for us in front of the school, looking around nervously for anyone who might witness his vulnerable state. Natsume smiles an evil smile of satisfaction as he throws Tsubasa's pants back at Tsubasa. Mouthing curses under his breath, Tsubasa hurriedly puts his pants on.

Narumi-sensei is waiting for us in the staff room of the elementary division. "Sensei!" Mikan screams in happiness, throwing herself on him. He picks her up and swings her around, making them both laugh. "Sensei, we've finished the scavenger hunt!" Mikan reports excitedly. "Are we the first ones back? Have we won?"

Narumi-sensei laughs at her excitement. "Yes, the scavenger hunt is over, Mikan-chan. And your group is the first one back. I think your group was the only one who made it past the second checkpoint." He puts one finger on his chin as he thinks. "However," He gently puts Mikan down. "I'm afraid I have to disqualify your group."

A pretty, blonde-haired lady steps forward and collects the items we obtained from the scavenger hunt from Natsume's and Yuu's arms. "Sorry." She says shortly.

"WHOO HOO!" Tsubasa begins celebrating, doing a happy dance. In my imagination's eye, I can see Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars rippling up and down. Oh my goodness. Bad thoughts! Disgusting thoughts! Get out of my head!

"Why?" Natsume demands. "Why were we disqualified?"

"Because it explicitly states in the rules that NO VIOLENCE IS PERMITTED, and you guys broke that rule." Narumi-sensei explains.

"Where does it say that?" Hana protests. Hotaru takes out the rules sheet and looks at it carefully. Hana rereads it over her shoulder. "Sensei, it doesn't say that anywhere!"

"Give that to me please, Hotaru-chan." Narumi-sensei holds out his hand for the paper. Hotaru wordlessly gives it over to him.

Narumi-sensei whips out a magnifying class and holds it over the rules paper. We huddle over it to look. There, in tiny print below the last rule, is 'No violence is allowed. Any forms of violence will result in disqualification and confiscation of all scavenger hunt items.'

"What the heck?" Mitsuki says in confusion. "How do you expect us to see that? It's TINY!"

"We didn't use violence." Natsume lies with his poker face.

"What?" Tsubasa bawls. "Yes you did!" Turning to Narumi-sensei with tears streaming down his face, he begins telling Narumi-sensei everything that had happened to him.

"Are you really going to believe him?" Natsume asks calmly, looking straight into Narumi-sensei's eyes. Natsume's scarily a really good liar.

"Why yes, Natsume-kun." Narumi-sensei smiles paternally at him, "And that's because I have proof that what Tsubasa-kun says is true. Serina-sensei, if you please." Narumi-sensei gives way to the blonde-haired lady, who steps forward holding a crystal ball in her hand. All of us lean closer to see what she's trying to show us.

The crystal ball shows us a montage of events that had occurred in the past. "No violence, huh?" Narumi-sensei says sarcastically as we watch me kicking Tsubasa behind the knees and Natsume trussing Tsubasa up like a chicken.

"Poor Tsubasa-kun." Serina-sensei murmurs softly. Guiltily, I realize that Tsubasa has gotten abused very often.

"Wait." Natsume says. "The rules say 'Confiscation of all scavenger hunt items'? You're taking everything?"

"Yup!" Narumi-sensei says perkily. "Everything but the high school student. Thanks a lot everyone!" He prances away happily with Serina-sensei, whispering to her, but failing horribly, "Good thing they succeeded! I was running low on bean whips…"

My jaw drops open. I look at Mitsuki and Hana with an expression of disbelief. "What…?" I splutter. "W-what just happened?"

"We've been had." Mitsuki says with a grimace.

"Damn that perverted teacher!" Natsume spits out. "He used us just to replenish his personal stores!"

"At least I'M FREEEEE!" Tsubasa runs out of the room in pure ecstasy, his proclamations of love of freedom echoing through the hallways.

"And at least we had a fun adventure together." Mikan says with a happy smile. Hotaru, Yuu, and Ruka smile back at her. The four happy kids leave together, with a disgruntled Natsume following suit. Mitsuki, Hana, and me are left behind in the now empty staff room.

"Do you understand what just happened?" I ask.

"Not at all." Hana shakes her head in disbelief.

"I think we just wasted our time." Mitsuki growls.

I sigh. "Whatever. At least we didn't have to go to class. Let's go back to the dorms."

We open the door of the staff room and begin to walk out. I walk backwards recklessly, talking to them. "I wonder what Howalon is." I change the subject. "Remember, Tsubasa mentioned it earlier?"

Mitsuki and Hana freeze in one place. "What's wrong?" I ask, turning around, only to bump into a wall of black.

"Excuse me." A deep voice says. I look up. Only one person would look like the personification of Death. Persona.


	13. First Mission

"I'm sorry!" I hurriedly bow and apologize to Persona. Of all the people I could've bumped into, fate just had to choose the scariest one of the lot.

"It isn't safe to walk backwards like that, Karin-san." Persona scolds me. "I would suggest you refrain from doing that from now on to prevent future injuries."

"Yes, Persona-san." I say respectfully, although I'm thinking in my head, _you're not my grandfather…_

"Do you have business in the high school section, Persona-san?" Hana quickly changes the subject.

Persona transfers his intense glare to Hana, to my immense relief. "I actually came over here to look for you three. I have a mission for you."

"A mission?" Mitsuki blankly stares at him. The three of us cast tired looks at each other. I suppose after having so much fun lately, all three of us had begun to forget our true purpose here at the academy.

"I will explain while we walk." He begins walking briskly down the hall without looking behind him to see if we were following. "Recently, a black market has been emerging in Central Town. The most popular product right now is the blacklisted Gulliver's Candy, which can alter the consumer's age when ingested. It has been banned from being sold due to some children not being able to return to their original size. However, this candy is still being produced and distributed, and we're beginning to see Gulliver's Candy being used by spies from Russia, China, you name it. I am sure that I don't have to stress the dangerous repercussions concerning espionage if this candy is in the hands of our enemies."

"So if you eat the candy, you can become older or younger?" Mitsuki asks for clarification.

Persona nods. "Yes, that's correct."

"What is Central Town?" I ask, remembering that Tsubasa had mentioned it earlier when we were on our scavenger hunt.

"Central Town is a town that was created by people with Alices within the Academy." Persona closes his eyes, annoyed at having to explain everything to us. "Students are allowed to go with permission to spend their allowances on certain novelty items that are sold there."

"So what are we supposed to do there?" Mitsuki asks with a deadpan expression.

Persona replies testily, "I was getting to that, and I would've explained it if you children would stop interrupting me with your questions!" He closes his eyes and takes a deep, calming breath. When he opens his eyes again, he says in a more calm voice, "Previous spies have discovered that the person who is distributing the candy is connected to an organization known as Sphinx. But nothing else is known about the organization presently."

Mitsuki asks with a sharp glance, "Then, do we know who's working the Gulliver's Candy op?" I impatiently await Persona's answer, since I think most people would like to know as much information as they can before jumping into a potentially life-threatening situation.

"Yes, we do." Persona has led us to the Dangerous Ability Room, and he opens the door for us all to step inside. He leads us to another room where there is already a screen projector set up. He motions for us to take a seat in the swivel chairs set up randomly around the conference table. I see him pick up this controller, aim it at the projector, and click. A picture of a middle-aged man appears on the screen. The picture looks like a candid shot, as he's not looking at the camera and seems to be in the middle of a step. From what I can observe, he has slightly wavy messy hair that looks like it hasn't been combed in days. The black is streaked with grey, suggesting that he's getting along in years. His hair contrasts with his pale skin, although he looks like he did manage to get a somewhat uneven tan with perseverance. His pale skin makes the dark stubble on his upper lip and chin even more apparent. He has small brown eyes that look like slits surrounded by crows' feet, focusing intensely on something beyond the camera, and a long mouth set into a smirk, revealing straight, long teeth that remind me of a rabbit. His body is lean, skinny, and angular, with sharp shoulders and long legs. In the picture, he is wearing a blue jacket paired with black jeans, an outfit that showcases his stick figure.

"This is the agent that's the liaison between the manufacturer and the distributor." Persona says emotionlessly, staring at the picture of the man. "Our other agents that have been working this case have discovered this," Persona clicks his controller again, minimizing the picture and pulling up a profile sheet. "His name: Aragaki Tamotsu. His age: we're not sure, but he appears to be around forty. His Alice: metal manipulation."

A knock sounds at the door. Persona stands up and walks over to open it, letting Hayate, Tsubasa, and Natsume in. "Ah, you're finally here." Persona returns to his briefing position and explain to us, "They are the team that is in charge of gathering intelligence in the black market. All of them have found positions within the group that's in charge of distributing Gulliver's Candy." I stare at the three of them for a while, trying to focus my thoughts. It was literally only about half an hour ago that I was laughing at Tsubasa's Sailor Scout boxers, and now I have to respect him as a senior field agent.

"So, what do we have to do with this?" Hana objects. "Why do we have to go on this mission?"

"Your unique abilities are…needed." Persona says slowly. "Your Alices are some of the most powerful in the Dangerous Ability class, and your combat skills, as evidenced from yesterday…admirable." I scowl angrily at him as I remember the surprise attack, and Hana places one restraining hand on my arm.

"What if we refuse?" I snarl, making the temperature in the room rise a couple of degrees.

Persona reaches under the table and takes out something white. Before anyone can move a muscle, _something_ is jammed onto my face. Luckily there're eyeholes I can see from, although it is a little difficult to breathe through it. "What the hell did you stick on my face?" I try to remove…the mask? I think it's a mask. I look around and see everyone looking at me in horror.

"How fitting." Persona smirks. "Both Fire Alices can be the White Cat and the Black Cat."

"Persona!" Natsume growls. "She didn't do anything! Take off the mask."

"I don't believe you are in a position to be making demands, Black Cat." Persona sneers. "Unless you want to wear your mask too?"

During the commotion, I try to ignite a small flame on my fingertip in the hopes of burning the mask off. It takes a little more effort than usual, but I can still do it. However, when the flame fully forms, a sharp surge of electricity jolts through my body from my face, and I give an involuntary yelp of pain and surprise, falling off my chair. Persona has stuck a damn Alice inhibitor mask on me!

"Ah, did you try to use your Alice to take it off?" Persona turns and gives me a devilish smile. "I suggest you don't. I'm amazed that you can still use your Alice with that on though. The larger the effort to take the mask off, the larger the 'punishment' is."

I do my best to convey my angriest glare at him, but considering it sounds like I have the face of a white cat right now, I don't think it's coming across the way I want it to. "Are you alright, Karin?" Mitsuki asks me worriedly, patting my shoulder.

"I can't take the mask off!" I yell. Mitsuki tries to rip it off my face too, but it doesn't work.

"Only a teacher can take it off." Natsume says quietly.

Persona walks towards me until he is right in front of my face. Sneering down his nose at my kneeling figure, he says, "I'll take the mask off. _If_… you agree to go on the mission. If not, the mask of shame will continue to administer electric shocks. If prolonged usage of the mask is necessary, the mask will shock you with increasing voltage even if you don't try to use your Alice. Now which sounds more appealing, going on this mission, or living with constant electricity running through your system?" Everyone is silent for a few moments. Persona says nonchalantly as he picks at his black nails, "I don't think you'll live very long with constant electric shocks…" I really just want to slap him across the face right now.

"We'll go on the mission!" Hana breaks. "So please, take off that wretched mask!"

"Hana!" I gasp, my voice muffled behind the mask.

"We'll persuade her." Mitsuki glares at Persona.

"It's a deal." Persona says expressionlessly. He waits for me to regain my footing before covering my eyes and lifting the mask off my face.

"Please, Karin." Hana pleads with me. I can't say no to her, so I stiffly nod my head in agreement.

"What's our role in this?" Mitsuki asks.

"Your job is to figure out where the manufacturer is." Persona replies, acting like nothing upsetting at all had just happened. "Our ultimate plan," he continues, "is to integrate our agents into both sides, the manufacturers and the distributers, and then crush the entire operation. Hopefully, by interrupting this operation, we can trace this back to the origin: Sphinx."

"How do you propose we do this?" I ask, fixing my hair, trying to regain my footing. "Do we have free rein on this, or do you have specific orders?"

"That depends." Persona looks over at the three boys. "I need to hear your status report before deciding how to proceed."

Tsubasa, Hayate, and Natsume look at each other, and it doesn't escape my notice that Natsume digs the heel of his boot into Tsubasa's foot. I disguise my snicker as a cough when I see Tsubasa pretend to "accidentally" smack Natsume's head as he clears his throat in preparation to give his report.

"Hayate and I have managed to find out that the meeting between the main manufacturer and the main distributer, Toshiyuki, will happen tomorrow night in Central Town." Tsubasa takes a jump drive from his pocket and jams it into the computer connected to the projector. Within a few clicks, the profile of Aragaki Tamotsu is replaced by a mug shot of a balding, fat man.

Tsubasa continues, "We haven't found out who the manufacturer is yet. The rendezvous location is located in a secret basement beneath the Howalon shop. Natsume has managed to build up a rapport with the liaison, Aragaki Tamotsu. We believe that we could crush the entire operation tomorrow night with Aragaki's help."

Persona narrows his eyes at Tsubasa, "Tomorrow night? That's very ambitious of you, Tsubasa. How can you be certain that Aragaki Tamotsu is on our side?" He turns to Natsume. "Natsume? You are the one who has established a relationship with him? Do you have anything to add to his profile?"

Natsume moves from his stupor and stands up to deliver his report. "Tamotsu has shown anti-Gulliver's Candy sentiment, but unless we reveal our true identities, there's no way to know for sure. He has expressed disgust for using Gulliver's Candy to alter children's appearances and strongly disagrees with using children for the sake of espionage." I can see the eyes of everyone in the room harden at the injustice of using children as spies, assassins, and other dirty jobs. I refuse to feel pity for myself. On a brighter note, this Tamotsu guy doesn't seem so bad. Natsume concludes his report with, "I don't know what his motives are for working as the liaison, or what his history is, as he speaks very little about himself. But I believe that given the chance, Tamotsu would assist us."

A heavy silence permeates the atmosphere. Hayate quietly breaks the silence finally by saying, "I have also managed to build up a relationship with three apprentices in the Howalon shop. They have expressed desire for more people to help them out in the shop with assisting customers and packaging product. I've told them that I know three girls perfect for the job."

Mitsuki, Hana, and I point fingers at each other in surprise, shooting questioning glances at Hayate and at each other. Hayate nods at us, giving me a sheepish smile. "I've told them that I'll bring the potential new employees over tomorrow morning."

I shrug at Mitsuki and Hana. "Hey, at least now we can find out what Howalon is."

"What we need you guys to do," Tsubasa says seriously, "is to keep the pathway to Central Town from the Howalon shop open. There needs to be a safe, efficient route for backup to rush through once we've cinched Toshiyuki and the manufacturer. We only have grounds to arrest them once we have proof that Gulliver's Candy is indeed what they are transporting. We absolutely cannot allow them to escape." His eyes soften, and he says more gently, "We cannot fail. For the sake of the children being forced into a form against their will."

"We understand." Mitsuki, Hana, and I nod in unison.

Persona glares at everyone in the room, adding to the tense atmosphere. "Know this," He hisses. "There is no room for error. If you mess this up, there is no guarantee that anyone will come to your rescue. If things turn out bad, do not reveal any information." He looks at all of us meaningfully. I understand what he wants us to do. He's basically telling us: if captured, commit suicide.

Persona continues, "If you betray Alice Academy, know for a fact that an anonymous death will come for you."

I confess; I gulp nervously. Persona really does scare me to death. His voice snaps me out of my thoughts as he asks all of us again, "Do you all understand what your roles are in this mission?"

"Yes, Persona-san!" We all bark.

"Good." He nods approvingly. "You are dismissed."

As we all line up to exit the room, Mitsuki, Hana, and I shoot each other meaningful glances. The three of us band together and start heading out to the cherry blossom tree to have a little rendezvous with Mr. Turtle.

"Hey!" We freeze and slowly turn around. The three boys had stopped outside the door of the Dangerous Ability Room and were looking at us. Natsume, the one who had spoken, continues saying, "Where are you guys going?"

"The little girls' room." Mitsuki replies. That girl is always quick as a whip!

I quickly follow up with, "Yeah, we really need to go. That was a really long meeting, you know?" I really wish they'd let us go now…

"I was wondering – well, we were wondering…" Hayate starts hesitantly. Tsubasa elbows him in the ribs as an encouragement to continue, which only earns him an annoyed swat back. "Are you guys really okay with what happened in there? I mean, I know you guys just transferred here, and to be put into a dangerous mission so soon, we understand if you guys are feeling scared or hesitant."

"What the idiot means to say is," Natsume interjects in bluntly, "you guys look really calm right now, and we want to get the emotional breakdown done with here rather than when we're out in the field. So any questions, tears, final will and testament, whatever, needs to be out right now before the mission starts tomorrow. Or if you want to withdraw, that's fine too. We'll cover for you so you don't face Persona's wrath." That kid is really snappy for someone who's only…I think he's twelve or thirteen…

I turn to Mitsuki and Hana questioningly. "Are you guys scared?"

"Yes." Mitsuki says bluntly. "After what happened to you in there, doubly so."

"Of course I am." Hana replies, looking pale and strained.

"Of course any normal person would be scared." I say, lifting my eyebrows at Natsume. "But what matters is that you don't let the fear control you." I say this for them, but also as a reminder for myself. I link arms with Mitsuki and Hana and smirk at the boys. "Don't worry, boys. You guys do what you have to do, and trust us to handle our job."

"Whatever floats your boat." Natsume snarls as he pushes past us. "Just don't make us rescue you if things go haywire."

"Knock on wood!" Mitsuki calls after his retreating figure.

Tsubasa grins at us and says, "He doesn't mean it the way it comes out, you know. He actually _cares_."

"I know." I grin, remembering how Natsume stepped up to defend me from Persona and the creepy cat mask.

"See you later at dinner, then." Tsubasa waves as he leaves.

"Everyone!" Hayate stops us before we turn to go. "I'll meet you guys tomorrow morning at eight in front of the high school section. The bus will come to take us to Central Town, and then I'll introduce you to your new employers."

"Got it. See you tomorrow, Hayate-kun." I wave at him.

Hayate touches my arm to stop me from leaving again. "I'm sorry about what happened to you today." He says worriedly. "Persona punishes those who don't listen to his orders. He tortures and threatens ruthlessly."

"Nothing that I can't handle." I tell him bravely, though inside, I shudder at the thought of wearing that cat mask again.

He smiles uncertainly at me, then finally turns and leaves. When I'm certain he's gone, I gush to Mitsuki and Hana, "Those boys are so cute! Being worried about us."

"They think we're newbies, that's why." Mitsuki says, a smile of relief on her face at seeing me return to normal.

Hana sighs and cups her cheek in her hand. "Hopefully they'll never find out that this is actually our 100th mission together."

"100 already?!" I exclaim. I begin to smile. "Our special 100th mission. I got a good feeling about this one. Something interesting is going to happen, I just know it!"

We hurry out to the cherry blossom tree before anyone else can intercept us. Before Mitsuki calls Mr. Turtle out however, I ask Hana and her not to say anything about the cat mask and the electrical torture.

"Why not?" Hana asks me gently.

"It's for Joel and Kay's peace of mind." I say sadly. "Joel and Kay love us like their own children. If they find out that the people that are supposed to be our allies are torturing us, they'll do anything in their power to terminate our mission. And I have a feeling that this mission cannot end until we succeed, or until we die. I don't want them to worry about us more than they already do."

"We understand." Mitsuki nods sagely, and then calls Mr. Turtle. He plops over a tree trunk, looking very happy to see us again. He quickly sets up a connection back to America.

"Hello girls." Kay has picked up the phone. "This is a pleasant surprise. It's only been three hours since your last check-in. What happened?"

"We got assigned a mission over here, Kay." Hana replies.

"We're supposed to help stop people in the black market that are selling something called Gulliver's Candy." Mitsuki adds in.

"Gulliver's Candy?" Kay gasps. "Oh my goodness, that's an illegal substance!"

"I've never heard of it in the United States though." I say.

"Our version is called Alice's Wonderland Cake, which is also illegal," she stresses, "although we are allowed to use it for espionage. It's made the same way as Gulliver's Candy, the only difference being the cake changes your size instead of your age, which seems to be safer." Kay pauses. "Joel is out at the moment, but I'm pretty sure he would agree with what I'm about to say to you girls. Cooperate with Alice Academy on this mission. But absolutely do not compromise yourselves. Report back to me as soon as you are able to."

"Understood." The three of us chime together.

Before we hang up though, Kay's voice bursts out from the turtle's mouth once again. "Wait, girls!"

"What is it, Kay?" Hana asks.

"Have you seen any sign of Agents 004, 005, and 006?"

"Not yet." I reply. "Not since this morning."

"We'll keep you posted." Mitsuki says.

"Keep your eyes open, girls." Kay sighs. "Joel really wants to know what Phil and Lucia are up to. They refuse to tell us ANYTHING, saying they don't want to jeopardize the covers of their operatives. In my opinion, they are just being STUBBORN! I mean, we're all working for the same team-"

"Kay!" I interrupt her tirade. At times, she can get a little carried away, especially when the subject is cooperation. "Is there anything else?"

"Oh, dear me, there I go again." Kay chuckles. "No, there's nothing else, girls. Stay safe, and hope to hear from you soon."

"Bye. For real, this time!" Mitsuki says meaningfully. After hanging up, she gives Mr. Turtle one last pat before he tramples away into the undergrowth of the forest.

"Gosh, I'm tired." Hana groans, stretching out her back.

"Me too." I agree, slouching. "Today was just too hectic. Too many things were going on!"

"I just want to go flop on my big, soft bed and SLEEP." Mitsuki mimes falling into bed.

"Let's go get some dinner, and then sleep." I propose. As we walk to the cafeteria, the feeling I had from earlier, the feeling that something interesting would happen tomorrow, came back and hit me with a heady rush. I feel almost giddy with the adrenaline.

"You guys." I look at both of them with a spirited smile. I turn to watch the sunset, causing them to follow my lead. "I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be an exciting day."


	14. Part-Time Job?

The following morning, Hana, Mitsuki, and I manage to wake up bright and early without any mishaps. We meet each other in the hallway outside our rooms with faces full of anticipation.

"All right." Mitsuki says, looking at her watch. "It's twenty minutes before eight. Let's start walking out there now." Yeah, for some reason, the high school student dorms are super far away from our school. Kudos to the person who planned out the school map…

We walk as fast as we can to school, not wanting Hayate to wait. We haven't seen him yet this morning, so I'm not sure if he's already left before us, or if he's leaving later than us.

When we get to the front of the school, we find Hayate already waiting for us, sitting on the steps leading to the school doors. "Morning!" He greets us, standing up at our arrival.

"Good morning, Hayate-kun." I smile at him. "Are we on time?"

"Just in time." He replies, looking at the watch on his wrist. "The bus should be here any minute now." I hear a loud meow in the distance. "There it is now."

After the bus comes to a silky stop in front of us, we file onto the bus in single file. Mitsuki and Hana sit next to each other while I slide in next to Hayate.

"Hayate-kun." Hana turns around to face us. "What's our employer like? Do we have to go through any interview?"

"Well…" Hayate looks around suspiciously, even though there's obviously no one on the bus this early in the morning. He motions for us to come closer, and then whispers, "Rumor has it that the owner of the Howalon shop, Yamaguchi Tsukasa-san, is a former member of the Anti-Alice Organization."

"Goodness!" I shoot a meaningful glance at Hana and Mitsuki. "This wasn't in the briefing!"

"Yes," Hayate whispers urgently. "We intentionally left it out of our report. Yamaguchi-san is a good man. If Persona found out he used to be the AAO's main hitman, he wouldn't be able to live in peace. And the students of Alice Academy would never forgive us for taking away the source of their favorite candy."

"Why did Yamaguchi Tsukasa leave the AAO?" Mitsuki asks.

"Yamaguchi-san's wife, Yamaguchi Ryuko-san, was the reason behind his defection." Hayate explains. "Ryuko-san is an Alice Academy graduate. They met when Ryuko-san was working as a waitress at a restaurant in Central Town. Because of his love for her, Yamaguchi-san faked his own death and started up his own business with her, making Howalon sweets."

We pause for a few moments, savoring the sweetness of their romance. "What are their Alices?" Hana asks when the moment is over.

"Yamaguchi-san's Alice is Magnification." Hayate says. "It allows him to see things at various magnifications. His Alice is so strong that if he runs it at full throttle, he can see cells with his naked eye."

"Holy wow!" I exclaim. "I see why he was hired to be a hitman…"

"Yeah." Hayate agrees. "He's using his powers for good now. Somehow, his Alice is integral to the Howalon-making process. I'm not sure how, since it's apparently a trade secret."

"How about his wife?" Mitsuki inquires.

"Her Alice is Dexterity." Hayate replies. "She can contort her body in any way, and also stretch all parts of her body. As you've probably figured out, she's really good with her hands."

By this time, the bus has stopped. The bus driver calls out, "Central Town!"

"Our stop, guys." Hayate stands up. "Let's go. I'll take you to the Howalon shop."

Hana, Mitsuki, and I step out into an Alice wonderland. There are quaint, colorful buildings everywhere we look. A cute cobbled stone path leads into the heart of the town, and on either side of the path grows various stores and restaurants, each selling their own unique items. We walk past a grocery shop owner setting out his wares for the day, and I hear the talking fruits before I even see them. An apple chatters excitedly to his banana neighbor about how his sister ran away to get ripe with a melon just yesterday. When I turn my head the other way, I see a toyshop with multitudes of stuffed animals displayed in its windows. The shop owner there appears to be waking them up, although there is one little teddy bear trying to sneak a few more moments of shuteye. The rest of the shops begin their day in the same fashion, as the little town begins to wake up and buzz busily.

"It's amazing." I breathe in awe, my eyes darting from each new attraction to the next.

"It's almost too much to take in." Mitsuki agrees.

"Come this way!" Hayate calls, walking at a brisk pace down the stone path, hands in his pockets. "Hurry, or else we'll be late!"

I reluctantly tear my eyes away from the wonderful sights and follow Hayate's slightly slouching form towards an amazingly pink, fluffy-looking building. The door of the fluffy building opens, and three familiar-looking people dressed in pink uniforms, a girl and two boys, walk out, each carrying a table and setting it down. They file back inside and quickly come back out with chairs, arranging them around the tables. The girl glances up, and catches my eye. A spark of recognition jolts between us. It's Agent 005!

She quickly looks down and slightly shakes her head. Beside her, the two boys notice her movement and follow her gaze. Now that I'm closer, I recognize Agent 004's square glasses and Agent 006's curly hair. Agent 006 elbows Agent 004 in the ribs quickly, and shakes his head almost imperceptibly. Agent 004 hisses in pain and shoots Agent 006 a dirty look, mouthing "I KNOW" to him.

"Morning, Kumiko-san!" Hayate calls, waving at her. "Need some help setting up?"

"Thanks for the offer, Hayate-kun, but it's alright," Agent 005 smiles at Hayate. "I got these two idiots to help me today."

"I'm not an idiot." Agent 004 declares haughtily. "I am Hikaru, the Great One. You all should be bowing down to me. My awesomeness outshines even the sun." Dude, even undercover, his pigheaded personality still shines through.

"Just stop, Hikaru." Kumiko, Agent 005, says tiredly. "Why don't you take a page from Daichi's book and shut up for once?"

Agent 006 backs away with his large hands up. "Don't drag me into this, Kumiko." He says with a sheepish expression. "I don't want to fight with Hikaru today."

"Where's Yamaguchi-san? I've brought the girls with me today." Hayate asks.

"Yamaguchi-sensei and Ryuko-sensei are inside, prepping for the day." Kumiko replies. She peers at Mitsuki, Hana, and me with a curious smile. With an upraised eyebrow, she asks, "So you three are the new recruits? What are your names?"

"I'm Sakurai Karin. Nice to meet you." I force a smile on my face as I bow to Agents 004, 005, and 006. So they're pretending not to know us, huh? They're probably doing this to not blow their covers, and hopefully not to blow our covers as well. "This is my sister, Sakurai Mitsuki," Mitsuki bows silently to them, "and our cousin, Narita Hana." Hana also quickly bows.

"Have you had any experience working in the food service industry?" Daichi, Agent 006, asks. All three of us shake our heads.

"Well, let's see what Yamaguchi-sensei says." Kumiko says. She motions towards us. "Come on, I'll take you guys in to see him." Kumiko looks at Hayate. "Are you coming too, Hayate-kun?"

Hayate nods. "I'll stick around until these girls are hired for sure."

We all walk inside the Howalon shop, with Kumiko leading the way. "Yamaguchi-sensei!" She calls out loudly. "The potential new employees are here!"

We hear a loud clatter coming from a door leading to the back of the building, and a large, burly man bumbles out, dusting pink sugar from his hands.

"Where are you guys?" He asks frantically, whipping his head back and forth vigorously.

"Look down, Sensei." Kumiko sighs. She whispers to us, "He forgets how tall he is sometimes."

"Hello." He inclines his head slightly with a big grin on his face. "I am Yamaguchi. Are you three the girls Hayate-kun was talking about?"

"Yes, hello." The three of us bow back to him, showing him respect. "We wish to seek employment at your bakery."

"I am Sakurai Karin, and this is my sister, Sakurai Mitsuki." I gesture to Mitsuki.

"I am Narita Hana." Hana introduces herself.

"Are you related too?" Yamaguchi-san asks, smiling knowingly.

"Yes." Hana smiles back at him. "I'm a cousin." Yamaguchi-san's smile is contagious. He has a kind face, although it is weather-beaten and has a few scars. He looks like someone who has been through many dangerous situations, but lived to tell his tale.

"Hello there." A small woman emerges from the same door Yamaguchi-san had come from.

"Good morning, Ryuko-sensei." Kumiko greets her.

Ryuko-san smiles at Kumiko to acknowledge her greeting, then turns and surveys us. "They look so young and cute, don't they, darling?"

"My wife, Yamaguchi Ryuko-san." Yamaguchi-san blushes as he introduces her.

"Nice to meet you." We bow to her as well.

"Nice to meet you too." She replies back. "Now darling!" To our great surprise, the small woman slaps her husband on his large, muscular arm. "Time to get back to work! The bakery opens early today! I can't start weaving the threads together until you're done spinning them! Hikaru-kun! Daichi-kun!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Hikaru and Daichi snap to attention. I watch this in awe, for this small, little woman had managed to somehow subdue Hikaru's big mouth that could not under any circumstances be tamed.

"Go help Yamaguchi-sensei spin the sugar crystals." She barks out orders like an army general.

"Yes ma'am!" Daichi and Hikaru immediately file up into a single-file line and march to the kitchen orderly.

"Hayate-kun!"

"Yes ma'am!" Even Hayate-kun stands rigidly like a private awaiting orders.

"Go wait outside."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Wow." I mouth to Mitsuki and Hana. "They're all whipped!"

"All right girls." Ryuko-san turns to us. Instinctively, we all straighten our backs for proper posture. For some reason, it feels really difficult to slouch or do anything out of place in front of her. "What we really need right now is service for the customers waiting in line. Every day, there's always a long line of customers, and sometimes we can't make enough Howalon for everyone because either our apprentices or my husband and I have to come out from the kitchen to ring up orders or entertain the guests while a batch is cooking. So, I was debating with my husband about what to do, and this is the answer we came up with." Ryuko-san holds up a finger to signal for us to wait as she leaves us momentarily and comes back with…

"Oh my god." We gape at what she holds out to us. It's basically a really frilly pink maid uniform, ribbons and lace everywhere. If I wear that thing, I'm going to look like a cloud of pink cotton candy…

"Yes." Ryuko-san says proudly. "It's quite appropriate for such a cutesy Howalon shop too, isn't it? Now you three can wear these and serve the customers during opening hours. After the shop closes, you can change into the same uniform as the other three apprentices and help us prepare for the next day." We stand there, utterly silent, staring at each outfit she had passed out to us. Seeing a lack of reaction from us, Fumiko-san shrugs and continues with her briefing. "You will be paid a wage of 1,000 yen an hour. We expect you to show up for work everyday, although considering you three are still students, we will allow you to come in as soon as school ends and leave early at 7 PM since your studies are important. On the weekends however, we expect you to arrive nice and early at 6 AM to help prep before the bakery opens at 7 AM. You will be allowed to leave when the workday ends at 10 PM. Of course I will provide you with lunch on the weekends, but you're on your own for dinner." She casts a piercing gaze over us. "Are these terms acceptable to you?"

Mitsuki and Hana both elbow me, motioning for me to ask the big question that all three of us was wondering. "Um, Yamaguchi-san…"

"Call me Ryuko. Yamaguchi-san is my husband." Ryuko-san prompts.

"Ryuko-san." I correct. "Your terms are very generous…"

So I say, but mental me rolls my eyes at how much we have to work for so little pay… No wonder they couldn't manage to hire anyone before us…

"But before we accept," I continue, "We just wanted to know. What is Howalon?"

Ryuko-san gapes at us. "Have you guys been living under a rock?" She asks us incredulously.

"Well," I laugh sheepishly. "We have just transferred into Alice Academy recently…"

"Darling!" Ryuko-san calls into the kitchen. "Quickly, have Daichi-kun spin three pieces of Howalon! Our new employees have no idea what Howalon is!"

A loud crash comes from the kitchen, followed by a loud masculine yell, "WHAT?"

"Exactly!" Ryuko-san calls back.

Daichi hurries out, looking rather harried and with pink sugar in his hair, holding a plate with three little pink puffballs. He offers one to each of us before skedaddling back to the kitchen.

"Try it." Ryuko-san urges.

After taking a bite, I'm instantly in heaven. The consistency is a bit like cotton candy, although it has a richer, sweet taste. It melts on my tongue almost immediately, and I can feel this sense of complete happiness invading my body. If a food critic had tried Howalon, that food critic would've given Howalon five stars indeed.

"This is amazing!" Hana exclaims, looking at her Howalon puff in delight.

Mitsuki finishes hers off with gusto. "I think this might be the best candy I've eaten in my life."

I am just at a loss for words. The only word I manage to squeak out before tossing the last bite of Howalon in my mouth is, "Heaven."

"Isn't it?" Ryuko-san says, with a smug expression on her face.

"How do you make this?" I ask with awe.

"A trade secret, my pretty girl." Ryuko-san winks at me. "After you've worked here for a while, perhaps we'll let you into the kitchen to see how we make it. But for now…" Ryuko-san gestures to the fluffy maid uniforms. "Time to change and get ready for opening!"

I mentally groan as I look at the maid uniform. It is kind of cute, but I feel a little uncomfortable wearing something so…eye-catching. Any chance I can accidentally burn this thing?


	15. One in a Million

I uneasily tie the apron around my waist. There's no mirror in the bathroom where Ryuko-san told us to change, so I can't check to see if my fears have come to fruition. I feel very reluctant to step outside the door. Looking at what I can see of myself, I mentally cringe. The skirt is kind of…short on me.

"Karin, you've been in there long enough!" Mitsuki's voice rings through the bathroom door. "Hurry up and come out! Work is starting soon!"

"Fine, fine." I suck in my breath and open the door. I stand there awkwardly, letting everyone in the room look at me. "Is it weird?"

"You look fine, Karin." Hana assures me.

Mitsuki has a gigantic smile on her face. Ryuko-san also looks like she's trying to hold back a few giggles of her own.

"No, it doesn't look fine." I say accusingly, pointing at the two. "Look at them! They're desperately trying to hold back tears of mirth!"

"Oh, don't be silly." Hana spins me around to fix my apron ribbon for me. "You just look…different than usual."

"I bet I look fat, don't I?" I wail. "I look like a pink blimp!" Hey, thirteen is a delicate age, so don't judge me for not wanting to look fat! I've always been a bit chubby for my height, and it's a sensitive subject for me…

"You naturally skinny people wouldn't understand." I bemoan, cursing skinny people in my mind. "The pounds just love me, and always come back with their buddies!"

"This outfit really doesn't suit you, huh?" Ryuko-san agrees, trying to hide her smile after seeing my distress.

"What's going o- oh." Daichi had walked in during the exact wrong moment. I feel my face blaze up immediately, and hiding my face, I run back into the bathroom.

"I'm not wearing this!" I holler, and immediately begin to strip myself, escaping back to my school uniform haven.

"Daichi-kun!" Hana scolds, while Mitsuki is just laughing her head off at my expense. I am so embarrassed. So, so embarrassed. Can I just die now?

"I-I'm sorry!" I hear Daichi stuttering outside. He still hasn't gotten rid of that habit… Back at the U.S Alice Academy, Daichi's stuttering problem had gotten better, only coming out whenever he became super excited or flustered about something. The stutters were definitely back now.

"Karin-san." I hear Ryuko-san's voice coming from the door after three polite knocks. "Try this on for size instead." I peek the door open a crack, my pride still hurt, and take the clothes she gives to me. "It's the same uniform the boys and Kumiko-chan wear."

I quickly put it on, and feel much better. The outfit is pretty much a pink jacket and pink pants with the logo of the shop on the back. I emerge shyly, tugging at my sleeves self-consciously.

"Much better." Ryuko-san smiles approvingly.

"Can I still serve guests in this outfit though?" I ask worriedly, mentally slapping myself for forgetting the true purpose of being employed here. "It's kind of a big contrast to…that." I gesture to the maid outfits Mitsuki and Hana were sporting. I shouldn't have made such a fuss about it, since it's only part of the mission, but the horror of wearing that was just too much for me.

"The two girls can stand outside and welcome customers, and you can stand at the cashier and handle the money." Ryuko-san says thoughtfully, tapping her chin as she thinks. "Perhaps we can have you take over Daichi-kun's secondary job then." I mentally release a breath of relief. Thank goodness I haven't lost the job.

"But she's a girl!" Daichi objects.

"What is the job?" I ask apprehensively. Hopefully it's not anything gross, like scooping up dog poop or something along those lines.

"Normally I also have Daichi-kun move some crates from the small storage room to the cellar. But I feel sorry having him do this on his own, so it would be a big relief if you could help him do this."

"I'm fine on my own!" Daichi insists. "I don't want her to get hurt!"

"I'll be fine." I smile at him. Pumping my muscles, I say, "I've always been a tough girl. A few crates won't be a problem!"

Daichi rolls his eyes at me. "Suit yourself then."

After this, Ryuko-san leads us out to the main part of the Howalon shop, where Hayate, Yamaguchi-san, Kumiko, and Hikaru are waiting.

"How cute!" Yamaguchi-san gushes, a slight blush on his cheeks. Kumiko runs over to Hana and Mitsuki and squeals over their maid outfits.

"You can go back now, Hayate-kun." Ryuko-san says bluntly. "I've hired the girls."

"Yes ma'am!" Hayate salutes her before waving bye to us and leaving quickly. The coward…

"Alright kids." Ryuko-san claps her hands together decisively, a determined twinkle in her eye. "Time to start the day!"

For the rest of the day, Mitsuki, Hana and I struggle to learn the ropes. I mess up twice counting out people's change, my hands fumbling with the still unfamiliar yen. Mitsuki brushes up on her people skills, trying her best to remain smiling the entire day, while Hana goes about her day like she's done it for years. By the end of the day, we're utterly exhausted.

I catch Daichi trying to sneak away with a medium-sized crate in his hands. "Excuse me, my good sir." I tease him. "I believe I'm supposed to be helping you!"

"You caught me." He chuckles. "Here, you can carry this." He hands me the crate he was carrying before disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Um…Daichi-kun?" I have no idea where I'm supposed to carry this thing!

"Hey! Chill." Daichi comes back pushing a dolly with three large crates stacked on top of each other. "You handle the small boxes, I'll take care of the big ones."

"Always the gentleman." I shake my head, smiling a bit. I walk beside him as he leads the way to where we're supposed to move the crates. As we descend some stairs to the cellar, I try to come up with a way to call him by his real name and not his code name. 'Daichi' is just too unfamiliar to me.

"Ni-chan!" I say suddenly. Daichi stops in his tracks, almost losing his grip on the dolly as he was carefully moving it down step by step.

"Cutting it a bit close there, aren't we?" He asks me, astonished. "Translating my name directly like that…"

"I don't like calling you 'Daichi.'" I insist. "That's not who you are."

Daichi rolls his eyes. "Well, it's who I am now." He replies. I purse my lips in a stubborn fashion. "If you must." He concedes, apparently deciding that this was a battle he did not want to fight. "Well? Did you want to ask me something?"

"Um, why are you here?" I ask like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Daichi puts his face into his palm, and then quickly glances around. "It's obviously top-secret?" He hisses at me in the same tone I used earlier.

"Come on!" I cajole him. "A hint?"

"No." He answers me shortly, reaching the bottom of the stairs and switching on a dim light. "Would you tell me why you're here in Japan as well?"

"No…" I reply reluctantly. "But it's just too much of a coincidence that we're stationed in the same area. It makes me curious as to what the higher-ups are thinking."

Daichi leads me to a mysterious door and starts unloading his dolly. I place my small crate down to help him lift and arrange his crates on the floor. "We're their pawns." Daichi grunts as we lift the topmost crate. "Our only purpose is to be moved according to their will and sacrificed to protect more important and powerful pieces. It's always been like this."

I listen quietly to his pessimism, feeling down myself. Usually, Daichi is the one to break through my stormy clouds with his sunny optimism, but now, for some reason, Daichi looks pained and contemplative. I wonder what's happened to him.

"Ni-chan, what's wrong?" I ask, patting his shoulder gently.

Daichi looks at me, and I can see the war going on inside, deciding whether to tell me or not. In a hushed tone, he whispers, stuttering slightly, "M-My little brother's found me."

I gape at him in astonishment. All of us at the American branch of Alice Academy have lost all communication with everyone we knew from our previous life. We technically don't even exist, with no social security numbers, no birth certificates, nothing to signify that we were ever born and had families and friends. Every trace of our existence was erased the instant the government found out we were Alices. To ever establish a connection with someone from that previous life is a one in a million occurrence.

"Your family found you?" I finally find the oxygen to ask, amazed and slightly excited. "They know you're alive? Wait, how'd they find you? Are they in Japan?"

"S-Slow down with the q-que-questions." Daichi scolds me nervously. "Van found me about six months before I left for Japan. I was walking around Central Park in New York City when Van ran into me while he was buying a newspaper from one of those stands."

"Doesn't your family live in Southern California?" I ask urgently, wanting to know faster. "What were they doing in New York?" I stop to think for a second. "What were YOU doing in New York? Weren't we all in Washington D.C. at the Alice dorms?"

"I had a mission, if you must know." Daichi snaps at me. "And apparently, my family was on a trip to New York. Van changed a lot after my disappearance. He became more grown up and responsible, and he and my parents were there to check out New York University. Van got accepted into a prestigious summer program there."

I whistle appreciatively. "Wow, NYU huh? Van really has changed a lot. Wasn't he the laziest kid ever? I remember you complaining about having to practically do his homework for him."

"Yeah. I still remember that stupid project I had to do for him because he would've been held back a year if he didn't complete it." Daichi scowls at the memory, but his facial expression still holds a hint of longing and sadness though he really does look annoyed at the mere thought of the memory.

"It's weird though." I grunt out as I struggle to hold up my end of the second box. "Usually they're really careful about keeping us away from anyone we've known before. Who was your handler for that New York mission?"

Daichi groans as we set the second box down on the floor. "Stop asking me questions you know I can't answer."

"Fine, fine." I concede. "Don't think you're off the hook though. I'm still going to ask you later. Do you at least know what's in these boxes? They're so heavy! How the heck did you manage to lift these on your own before I came?"

"I actually don't know what's inside." Daichi admits. "And I'm a strong boy."

"What kind of agent are you?" I tease. "Curiosity is supposed to be our greatest asset."

"The terror Ryuko-sensei instills in our hearts is enough to scare anyone into submission." Daichi declares. "You saw how even Hikaru is cowed before her. Also, another reason to not get on her bad side is that, she's kind of my boss, you know?"

I roll my eyes at his sarcasm. "Yes, I know that."

"And even though I shouldn't tell you this, I'll say it anyways. It's kind of integral to my mission that I remain employed here, so I should probably try to stay on my boss's good side."

"Enough with the sarcasm already!" I groan, smacking his shoulder for good measure. "I got it, I got it! I'll stop asking you questions that I know you can't answer. So Ryuko-san doesn't allow you to open these boxes." I have a suspicion as to the contents of these crates, but I can't be absolutely sure until I can open them and see what's inside with my own eyes. I give Daichi an I-need-to-see-what's-inside-these-crates look, nodding my head and moving my eyes vigorously from him to the crate. I'm sure I look like an idiot right now.

Daichi nods, showing me that he understands. "Ryuko-sensei specially told _me, Kumiko, and Hikaru_ not to ever look inside these boxes." Daichi places particular stress when referring to himself and his team. To my surprise, Daichi kneels down on the floor, lifts my pant legs up, and pulls at my shoelaces.

"What are you-!" I begin to protest, but Daichi shoots me a glare. He then proceeds to knot my shoelaces from opposite shoes together, to my great astonishment.

As he stands up, he smirks as he tells me, "Oh, your shoelaces are untied. Better tie them up before going back upstairs. It's dangerous to walk around a kitchen like _that_, you know. I'll be going up first." He gives me a meaningful look, points to a dark corner to the left, and leaves me, pushing the dolly back upstairs.

I stand there, very confused for a bit. I suppose first things first; I should probably retie my shoelaces. He could've thought of another way to leave me here alone, although I should probably thank him for this opportunity. He's allowed me a chance to investigate the contents of these crates. I curse him under my breath as I struggle to take the knot out. Stupid Boy Scout.

After tying my shoelaces, I creep over to the corner Daichi had pointed to earlier. At first glance, all I see are dozens of sacks of sugar. But Daichi wouldn't have pointed me here without a plausible reason. I start moving some of the sacks around, looking for some strange object out of place. After I've moved perhaps my fifteenth sack of sugar, I feel something hard in the sixteenth sack. I pat it down quickly, and discover that the top of this sack has been opened. Carefully opening the top of the sack, I find a black crowbar stuck in the midst of pink sugar, like King Arthur's sword stuck in the stone. I extricate the crowbar in awe, mentally thanking Daichi. This is what I need to pop those crates open. At the end of the crowbar, tied on by a strong piece of rope, is a hammer to nail those nails back in when I'm done snooping. Daichi really does think of everything. That smart boy.

Trusting that Daichi has bought me enough time upstairs to open the crates and close them, I immediately launch into the operation. Sticking one end of the crowbar underneath the lid of the crate, I push as hard as I can on the other end, making the crowbar into a lever. The nails are nailed really hard in the wood! It takes me three minutes of throwing my weight on the crowbar to even pry it open. With renewed fervor, I use all of my strength to lift the lid up a total of five inches. Panting from the exertion, I accept my losses and try to peek inside. The lighting in the cellar sucks, so I have to conjure up a small fireball for a light source. Putting on my glasses with the hand that's not holding my fireball, I lean closer to the contents of the crate.

There's a bunch of wrapped candies inside the crate. Curious, I reach in and take one out for a closer look. The multi-colored candy inside is shaped like a ball, and it has a number written on the outside plastic wrap. The one I've taken out is labeled 'five.' I put that one back and pick up another one. This one says 'fifteen.' I think I've hit the jackpot. These crates must all contain Gulliver's Candy. But…why is Ryuko-san involved in this? How is she involved in this? I know that Yamaguchi-san is a former member of the AAO. Perhaps the AAO is involved in the distribution of Gulliver's Candy? But Yamaguchi-san should no longer have any more ties to the AAO. He faked his own death, according to Hayate. What is going on?

I try the handle of the strange cellar door. It's totally locked. Giving up for now, I continue my investigation by cracking open the rest of the crates to make sure all of them contain Gulliver's Candy. As expected, they do, and I quickly use the hammer that Daichi provided to bang the nails back into place.

"HEY!" I hear a loud, squeaky yell coming from the stairs. I quickly turn, certain that the jig is up. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

The owner of the voice is a fat, balding old man. As he steps closer to the light, I recognize him as Toshiyuki, from Persona's briefing. Hidden behind his bulk, Ryuko-san seems to be guiding him down to the basement.

"Karin-san?" Ryuko-san asks me, looking confused. "What are you doing down here? Daichi-kun went up ages ago."

Thinking fast, I decide the idiot route is my best bet. Scratching my head with one hand, I laugh and say, "Oh, I was down here tying my shoelaces when I noticed that some nails on the crates weren't nailed in properly, so I was just fixing it up."

Ryuko-san frowns. "Where'd that hammer come from?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I found it in that corner over there." I point away from the bags of sugar.

"Tsukasa-san must've left it out." Ryuko-san sighs. "Although I don't remember seeing that hammer in his toolbox…"

Toshiyuki is staring suspiciously at me. I can feel his eyes raking over my bright pink outfit and judging my fashion sense. It makes me want to snap at him that I'm not wearing this by choice, but whatever. I'm already in a tight situation…

"Who is this girl?" Toshiyuki asks Ryuko-san harshly.

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience." Ryuko-san bows to the ball of fat. "She is one of my new employees, and is still getting used to the work. Karin-san." Ryuko-san addresses me a tad nervously. "Please apologize to Toshiyuki-san."

Who the hell is this obese, gelatinous tub of lard that can make even a strong woman like Ryuko-san quiver? But, to follow through with my dumb image, I purposely bow awkwardly and slur together a "Please excuse my rudeness" like I'm a dimwit.

"Ryuko, you really should pick your employees carefully. Perhaps you should start giving out intelligence tests." He sneers at me. My face heats up, hate inflaming my whole being. You bastard, I'm an effing genius! He barks out a command at me. "Get out of here, you dumb girl!"

Who the hell died and made you king? I want to scream this at his face, but to keep my cover, I bow my head and hurry to the cellar stairs. I run into a small body, who steadies me with warm hands. Looking up slightly with the intent to apologize, I meet Natsume's fiery red eyes. I stifle a gasp. His gaze flickers to the cellar door, then back to me. His little mouth tightens into a firm line, and I remember the role me, Mitsuki, and Hana must play tonight. We must keep the shop doors open no matter what.

"Shin, what are you doing?" Toshiyuki's obnoxious voice rings lazily throughout the cellar. "Hurry up and get down here!" The strange cellar door was open, and Toshiyuki was holding the key. Ryuko-san looks at me worriedly before entering the cellar door.

"Coming, Toshiyuki-san." Natsume lets go of me and follows after Toshiyuki. I gaze at his straight, proud back as he disappears through that mysterious cellar door.


	16. New Encounter

I have a bad feeling. It fills my entire being, from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. It especially hits my stomach, which starts churning uncomfortably. I idly realize that the only food I've eaten since breakfast today was one piece of Howalon candy.

After Natsume, code name 'Shin' in this operation I suppose, disappears through the door, Toshiyuki follows afterwards, letting the door swing shut. Moving on instinct, I rush to the cellar door and jam the crowbar I had hidden behind the crates into the doorway before the door can fully close. When I realize what I've done, I silently pray with all my might that Toshiyuki has already gone away far enough to not notice that the door didn't shut all the way.

"HEY, YOU!" I jump for what seems like the millionth time today. I turn my head around to see a large burly man holding Mitsuki and Hana like sacks of flour in each arm. He's brought two more buddies just as burly, if not burlier.

"Oh my god." I gasp at how ineffective Mitsuki's struggles are against the man. Poor Hana is knocked out completely. Is the jig up? If Mitsuki and Hana are captured, what happened to Kumiko, Daichi, Hikaru, and Yamaguchi-san?

"Is this another little mouse trying to sneak into our lair?" The man smirks at me as his buddies fan out to surround me completely. I'm backed up against the wall, with only a crowbar stuck into the doorway to defend myself. My eyes widen as I assess the possibilities of me possibly winning this fight alone. All simulations in my mind are not looking good…

"RUN, KARIN!" Mitsuki hollers, for she had seen before me the thug on the left about to tackle me to the ground.

I use the crowbar to forcefully open the door and let the crowbar slip from my hand to crash into that thug's face. I bolt through the doorway and run with all my might, fear and adrenaline fueling my legs. "Get her!" A masculine voice bawls to his comrades. Loud, pounding footsteps sound behind me.

I'm gasping for breath by now, trying to keep my fear at bay. Mitsuki is shrieking like crazy, the high-pitched sounds of her voice echoing through this corridor that I was running down. I can only hope that she won't get gravely injured by that man three times her size.

I'm reaching the end of the corridor, with a turn, and as I turn the corner, a foot comes out of nowhere and trips me over. To save myself, I tuck my body into a ball and roll, but this mishap is enough to slow me down considerably. As I move to get away, a heavy mass tackles me from behind. I frantically kick the man who has my lower body pinned to the ground, but he has such a tight grip on me I begin to despair ever escaping. Almost scared out of my wits, I wiggle like a worm, but my arms and legs get pinned down as well. With horror, I see a rag approaching my face. Oh hell no! It's probably chloroform. They cover my entire face with that rag and clap a humongous hand over my mouth and nose. If I don't get knocked out from the chloroform, I will most certainly pass out from the lack of oxygen.

"Damn, she keeps on squirming." One man seethes.

"KARIN!" Mitsuki screams.

"Hey, shut her up! Toshiyuki-san hates the sound of screaming girls!"

"Give her the rag too."

"ERHMPH!"

My vision begins to flicker, and my brain thinks hazily that the world is starting to look like a television with poor reception. My brain seems to do flip-flops inside my head, and…

I groggily wake up, trying to open my eyes as wide as I can to take in my surroundings. Apparently, I've been put into a dull, grey room. I try to stretch as well, only to find out that both my hands and feet have been tied together tightly while I was unconscious. Great.

"Toshiyuki-san. The captive is awake." I swerve my head in the direction of the voice quickly. There is a burly man sitting in a folding chair talking into a walkie-talkie, never letting me out of his sight.

"Affirmative." A voice squawks out from the communicator.

My heart thumps wildly as I stare wide-eyed at the door. Trying not to draw attention to myself, I search for a weakness in my bonds. No such luck, sadly. I'm certain that my wrists and ankles are bruised.

Within minutes, the door bursts open. "Hahaha!" A loud pompous laugh rings out. I know that this is no situation for sarcasm, but I just can't help rolling my eyes. Toshiyuki steps into the room, putting on airs like he's some big shot.

"OW!" I scream as he yanks me up by a lock of my hair.

"I thought I'd seen you somewhere, but you acted so dumb earlier, I didn't recognize you!" Tears come to my eyes as he yanks a fistful of hair with each word his putrid mouth pronounces. Pulling me closer by the hair, he guffaws into my face, "Nice to meet you, Agent Sakurai Karin."

A wave of relief rushes through my body. I had thought he knew my real identity, but turns out he only knows my Japanese identity. Thank goodness. But either way, I'm still in a tight spot. I silently generate a small ring of fire around my wrists and burn the ropes off.

"Let's turn you into a more manageable form." He nods to the bodyguard, who moves forward to cut my bonds apart with a small pocketknife. I use this moment to jump up and rush for the door, and the man falters a bit, surprised by my sudden escape. However, he regains his wits quickly after Toshiyuki bawls, "Don't let her escape!" and restrains me with his arms before I can open the door. Toshiyuki takes a candy out of his pocket and starts to unwrap it. From the wrapper, I can tell it's Gulliver's Candy. However, his stupid fat fingers are covering the number on the wrapper. "Open up!" He smiles evilly.

I stubbornly keep my mouth closed. I'm torn between using my Alice to escape and waiting for a better opportunity. If I use my Alice now, I'll give away a crucial secret, but I'll be able to escape. My moment of indecision is all Toshiyuki needs to take action himself. Toshiyuki grabs my face and squeezes my cheeks together until my mouth unwillingly opens with a loud POP!

"NO-umph!" Toshiyuki crams the candy into my mouth before finally letting me go. I immediately spit the candy out before any changes can happen to my body.

"Ha!" I cackle hysterically. "You can't alter my appearance if I refuse to dissolve the candy in my mouth!"

The same feeling of dread from earlier forms in my stomach again when Toshiyuki smiles evilly. "You think that after months of having the candy in my possession, I wouldn't figure out ways to solve all its shortcomings? You think I want to sell my customers faulty merchandise?" He clutches his heart with a face of mock hurt. "My dear agent, I am slighted by you. I cannot believe you think so lowly of me."

"Shut up." I snarl. "You have some trick up your sleeve, so stop wasting time and just tell me what you did!"

"It has already started." He begins chortling infuriatingly. I clench and unclench my fists, wanting to smack his face so badly. His fat ugly face seems to get farther and farther away. I look down at myself. With a surprised jerk, I see my body begin to shrink closer to the ground.

"What?" I gasp, listening as my voice goes up several pitches when I breathe out the single word. My body shrinks down to the size of a three year old's body, and I'm swimming in my work uniform that's now like a circus tent on me. "What's happened to me? I spit out the candy already…" I jump listening to my voice. I sound like one of those anime characters!

The stupid man laughs some more after hearing me say this. "I've managed to further develop the candy so that only a taste of it will change you into the desired age for…you know what?" He starts chuckling like he's just told a funny joke. "I won't tell you how long the effects last!" He starts moving towards me menacingly. "So I'm going to get rid of you for a while so I can complete this transaction."

I frantically try to generate some fire to throw at him, but my now too-baggy clothes impede my way. Toshiyuki bundles me in my own clothes and begins carrying me to some unknown place. I try to burn him with my fire through the clothes, but he merely giggles and says, "No use trying to burn me, cute little girl. I'm wearing fireproof clothing."

"Damn!" I swear. "Who told you so much about me?" Toshiyuki chooses not to reply to my question, instead tossing the bundled-up me onto the cold, hard ground. I hear a door slam shut as I struggle to find my way out of my uniform.

"Oh no." I examine my body, the feeling of dread knotting in the pit of my stomach. Chubby arms, legs, and round belly. Tiny feet, tiny hands, even my hair has become a fine, curly, smooth mass of baby hair. Obviously none of my clothes fit anymore, so to preserve what little dignity I had left, I grab my shirt and fashion it as best as I can into some sort of strange dress around my body.

After I've solved my fashion emergency, I run to the door and try to turn the door handle. It's placed a bit too high for a three-year-old to reach, so I have to tiptoe to grab the handle. Obviously it's locked. I give a loud sigh as I rev up my engines and throw a fireball at the metal door in an attempt to melt it. Damn that fireball was _tiny_. I hate being three. I place my hands on the door and try to increase the temperature of my fire. The damn metal won't budge at all. I'm sweating from the heat myself, but my efforts bear no fruits. The door must be made from tungsten, the metal with the highest melting point ever, and my now-tiny body just can't generate fire at that temperature.

Being back to chibi size means my stamina goes back to chibi size. After half an hour of trying to weaken the door and other parts of my cell, I flop down to the cold floor, slightly dizzy and out of breath. I probably wasted an entire year of my life already. "Damn it!" I hiss as I slap the floor out of frustration.

About an hour later, I jerk upwards as I hear the door open again. I quickly stand up, expecting Toshiyuki to return to make me feel worse about myself. Instead, a familiar-looking man with dark circles underneath his eyes begins to walk in. He turns around to listen when a high-pitched voice says, "Wait, Tamotsu-kun! Take this tray in to her too." Before he fully enters the room, I quickly try to find a place to hide. My heart is beating so fast right now, and for some reason I have yet to decipher, I feel really, really scared. In a moment of pure genius (I'm totally being sarcastic right now) and with a lack of anything to hide behind or in inside this empty room, I duck back into my pile of discarded clothes and hug a now-too-big sock tightly for comfort. I start involuntarily shuddering as I hear footsteps coming closer and closer to my hiding spot.

"I know you're in there." The footsteps stop in front of me. "Clothes don't shake." I squeeze my eyes shut. _Come on, girl!_ I tell myself. _You're braver than this! Stop being such a coward!_

After taking a deep breath, I burst out of the pile of clothes and jump up in what I hope is an intimidating fighting position. I may not be a martial arts master like Hana, but I did take some self-defense. I ignite fireballs in my hands for extra oomph. "Stay back!" I shout, hoping I sounded brave and confident. "I won't tell you anything!" Okay, that sounded more like scared little girl. I bet it would have sounded better if I didn't have a voice like Pikachu.

"I didn't _ask _you to tell me _anything_." The tired man replied with a deep sigh. Upon closer inspection, I recognize him now. He is Aragaki Tamotsu, from the briefing from Persona. He looks even worse off now than he did in the picture in his profile page, with dark, dark eye circles underneath his snake-like eyes. He holds in his left hand a tray of food and a blanket, while his right is scratching his shaggy head. "I'm not going to hurt you." Tamotsu says, seeing my guarded expression and pose. "I just brought food and a blanket." I'm still not going to trust him, so I don't relax my guard.

Tamotsu sighs again, and then sits down where he stands, setting the tray and the blanket on the ground and sticking his hands in the air. "I surrender." He says limply. "So come and eat."

I slowly release my fists and let my arms fall to my sides, extinguishing my fire. Squinting my eyes suspiciously at him, I take teensy baby steps toward the tray on the floor. As I progress, I ponder my options carefully in my head. I could refuse to eat, but who knows when backup would come for me. There's always the possibility of poison…I figured I should try to eat and save up my energy for my eventual escape. Yeah, that's what I should do. It was an awful long time since dinner already…

By this time, I've already reached the tray, and Tamotsu is staring at me with an unreadable expression. My eyes flicker back and forth between him and the tray of food. "Eat." He enunciates, eyes not moving from my face. I reach down and take an apple, turning it back and forth, staring at the smooth tawny skin. With my height right now, I am eye level with the sitting Tamotsu. I step a little closer to him warily and shove the fruit in front of his mouth.

"You first." I say quietly. My heart is thumping wildly with the thought of dying from poison.

His eyes flicker between the fruit in my hand and my face. He reaches up and grabs my wrist, making me jump. I watch him with terror as he guides my shaking hand to his mouth and takes a big bite of the apple. He chews very slowly, and when he finally swallows, he asks me with a smirk on his face, "Have you sentenced me to mortal death, Eve?"

"I'm not Eve." I say automatically, watching him carefully. His lame biblical reference won't convince me to trust him. He still hasn't let go of my wrist.

"Don't worry." He says, staring into my eyes. "I was joking. There's no poison. The cook, Tanaka-sensei, is a good person. She wouldn't poison a baby like you."

"How can I trust you?" I ask. "You people work for that man who captured me. That man wants to kill me." Tears start forming in my eyes, even though I'm trying desperately to hold them back. For some reason, as a little kid, tears are harder for me to control. "I don't know what he's done to my friends either. I don't know if they're dead or if they're also captives somewhere else."

I gasp as Tamotsu pulls me easily to his side and plops me on his lap, resting my head against his chest. He starts patting my back awkwardly. "Quiet, Eve-chan. Don't cry. Toshiyuki-san might come back if he hears you crying."

"Toshiyuki?" It's time to test whether he has assessed me as a true threat yet. I push myself away from him and look up at his angular profile. "Is that the name of that man that imprisoned me in here?" I bat my eyelashes for added effect to my charade.

With a slightly surprised expression, Tamotsu says, "You're a precocious little girl. Yes, you're correct. Toshiyuki-san is the one in charge of distributing Gulliver's Candy to any nation willing to pay the price. Since it is such a lucrative market, he will not permit anyone to stand in his way."

It's starting to get colder, so I grab the blanket and wrap myself in it. I'm wondering why Tamotsu is telling me all of this. He is the liaison between the manufacturer and the distributor, yet he seems to be willing to reveal a lot of information to me. Even though I'm not sure if the things he's telling me are true or not, I suppose I should milk as much information out of this as I can.

"Tell me who and where the manufacturer is." I prod, wondering if he'll answer me this time.

"I'll tell you if you eat." He suddenly grabs my chin, pulls my face closer to his, scoops me a spoonful of fried rice and taps the spoon against my closed mouth. "Come on, kid. You won't grow if you don't eat." My face becomes so hot that I think I could possibly fry an egg on it. I scrunch my eyes closed to avoid looking at his sharp brown eyes. _Stop blushing! _I scold myself. _The man is like, forty! You're like, three right now. That's disgusting!_

"Um, Eve." Tamotsu snaps me out of my frenzied thoughts. When I open my eyes, he's staring at me again, but with small eyes opened wide. The rice comically plops out of the spoon back onto the tray. "You've GROWN."

"What?" I quickly yank my chin from his grip and stand up. Tamotsu quickly stands back up as well. I'm closer to his face now, about shoulder level. I look at my hands and feet. They're normally sized again. I run my fingers through my hair. It's back to being long and coarse. I sneak a quick peek into the blanket I draped over myself and quickly close it again. Yep, my boobs are back as well.

"I'm back to normal!" I exclaim, giving a jump of excitement. I turn back to Tamotsu. "I'm back to-YOU'RE YOUNGER." My jaw drops open.

"Shoot, the candy dissolved." Tamotsu scratches his head in vexation. He starts fumbling in the pockets of his now-slightly-baggy pants, taking out a piece of candy. I stare at Tamotsu, trying to finish processing his new appearance before he changes back into old-man mode. His hair no longer has those large streaks of grey, reverting back to a glossy black. He doesn't have any wrinkles anymore, or any sagging skin, revealing a sharp, thin face with a pointy chin. His body appears to have lost fat and gained a bit of muscle, and he became a bit taller than before. All in all, he looks like he lost twenty or so years. I refuse to let the thought that he's even better looking now linger in my head.

"You are definitely not forty." I declare, looking at him suspiciously.

"And you are definitely NOT three!" He shoots at me indignantly, unwrapping his candy. We look at each other with narrowed eyes. "Gulliver's Candy?" He asks me as he pops the candy into his mouth. The change with normal Gulliver's Candy appears to be gradual. I observe Tamotsu's hair slowly start becoming grey.

"Force-fed to me by that Toshiyuki bastard." I scowl, answering his question. "Now do you mind? I'd like to continue our previous conversation before the both of us began shape shifting. And I would like to do this CLOTHED."


End file.
